No One Like You
by OtakuSailorV
Summary: Yuka falls down the well after hearing the Higurashi's talking about Kagome's time-hopping. Confused and unable to return home again, she may be in for more than she expects. (RenkotsuYuka)
1. Default Chapter

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV  
  
Yuka sighed as she stared out the window. It was one of those days again; a regular day in school that never seemed to end.  
  
Kagome was sick still, something Yuka had grown accustomed to and had stopped questioning. Eri was out on vacation, and Ayumi was busy for the rest of the week with something from a school club.  
  
So Yuka was once again left to wonder, at the end of the school day, what to do.  
  
"Yuka, you can go now." A voice gently informed her as she peered out the window longingly.  
  
Yuka snapped from her bored thoughts and looked up to see her teacher staring at her. With a sigh, she grabbed up her bag, and walked out the door, not caring that the rest of her classmates had left minutes before her.  
  
As she walked out of her school, Yuka looked about briefly in a hopeless manner.  
  
Making a face, she turned toward home.  
  
"Excuse me, Yuka-kohai!"  
  
Yuka turned upon hearing her name. "Hm?"  
  
Hojo ran toward her, smiling happily. "Hey, uhm, have you seen Kagome-chan around?" He asked her nervously, blushing slightly.  
  
Yuka blinked at him once before answering. "No, I'm sorry Hojo-sempai. . ."  
  
Hojo made a face. "Is she still sick?"  
  
"I think so. . ." Yuka said a bit uselessly.  
  
"Maybe I'll call her house tonight. . ." Hojo mumbled before smiling at Yuka and bowing.  
  
"Thank you, Yuka-kohai." He said before walking off.  
  
Yuka nodded before heading back toward her house again.  
  
As she walked, Yuka thought with boredom of the evening ahead of her again, eyes slightly open as she chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip.  
  
_'What's to do. . . ?'_ She thought, kicking at a rock with the tip of her shoe. _'I could go see if Kagome's home. . . ?'_ She stopped at the street that led to her friend's house.  
  
Cocking her head to one side in thought, she gathered that it couldn't hurt to at least check and see if her friend was home from the hospital yet. _'If nothing else, it'll kill a few minutes of boredom. . .'  
_  
With that, she headed down the street to Kagome's house.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
  
Yuka halted as she reached the base of the huge stairway that led up to Kagome's home. "I forgot about this. . ." She groaned to herself before taking the steps two at a time.  
  
Yuka gasped for her breath, looking back and seeing that she was only about halfway up. _'Either I'm out of shape, or there are more steps than I thought.'  
_  
Making a face, Yuka pulled her backpack by its straps and charged up the rest of the steps; out of breath by the time she reached the top.  
  
Catching her breath, she walked up to the house and was about to knock on the door when she heard voices from inside.  
  
"You think Kagome will be back soon?"  
  
"She must be very busy, Souta."  
  
Yuka made a face, one eyebrow moving upward in confusion. _'What?'_  
  
"But I want to see Inuyasha-nii-chan again. . ." Souta moaned from inside.  
  
"I too want to see this half-demon from the 'other time' again." Kagome's grandfather's voice was heard suddenly. "Whenever he comes, it is never for very long."  
  
Souta laughed. "You're just hoping you can persuade him to take you to the other side of the well with them sometime."  
  
_'The well. . .'_ Yuka looked over her shoulder to the shed-like structure that Kagome had once told her contained an old well that dated back to the feudal era.  
  
Inside there was muttering from the grandfather before the family started to talk on another subject.  
  
Backing away from the door, Yuka looked sidelong at the old wooden building that contained the well. _'Were they being serious. . . ?'_  
  
Curious, her eyes darted from the house to the building several times before she snuck toward the shack carefully.  
  
Her heart beat faster the closer she got, she felt like she was trying to steal something from the Higurashi's.  
  
Holding her breath, Yuka thrust open the door to the building and hurried inside, shutting it back behind her softly.  
  
Turning, she pressed her back against the door, and tried to calm the mounting anxiety that was building in her.  
  
"What am I doing. . . ?" She asked herself, staring at the well. Instantly, she imagined Kagome climbing out of it, her clothes bloody and torn. "When she told us that her uniform was all bloody. . .she didn't mean from herself. . ." Yuka blinked, her legs wobbling as she went down the steps and stared into the well.  
  
"Ew, there're bones at the bottom." Yuka wrinkled her nose as she leaned in to see.  
  
Studying it further, Yuka found the wood to be quite rough, and narrowly avoided several nasty splinters. _'I wonder if Kagome ever gets hurt?'  
_  
Looking over a piece of the wood, she was engrossed completely in thought when she heard the door start to open.  
  
"Hello?" A voice called, and Yuka jumped, looking for a place to hide.  
  
Seeing as the only way was down the well, Yuka jumped over quickly; fearing the pain she was sure would shoot through her legs when she landed.  
  
"Hello?" The voice called again, but this time it seemed somehow distorted, as if it had come from a place far, far away.  
  
Holding her breath again, Yuka had the odd sensation that she was floating in mid air.  
  
Puzzled, she un-bent her legs and felt herself set right down on her feet at the bottom of the well.  
  
"Weird. . ." She mumbled, looking around and seeing a vine extending up out of the well.  
  
"That wasn't here before." She blinked at it as she grabbed on and climbed out.  
  
Blinking at the sun, Yuka looked around to see if it was ok to leave the well yet.  
  
The scene before her made her jaw drop and stomach plummet. "Oh. . .my. . ." She breathed, heart pounding.  
  
Her breath came in small, tiny little gasps as she came all the way out of the well, staring around her in amazement. For no longer was there a building surrounding the well, but a thick, green forest.  
  
"Where. . .am I. . . ?"  
  
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  
  
Well, that's the beginning of something I'm gonna experiment with. I hope you enjoyed, and please review. Ja!


	2. Chapter 2

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 2:: Strange New World 

_"Where. . .am I. . . ?"_

Yuka looked around carefully, her mouth open in shock.

Climbing the rest of the way out of the well, she sat on the edge, clutching her backpack straps tightly in her hands until the knuckles turned white.

Her breath caught in her throat, and she was sure that she was dreaming. "Oh my God I died."

She blinked, rubbing her eyes, before pinching her arm. "Yeow! Yeah, it's real."

Jumping off the edge of the well, Yuka looked around herself thoughtfully. "This place is so weird. . ." She breathed, admiring the towering trees. "It's like I'm back in the feudal era or something. . ."

"Ok, weird, I'm leaving." Yuka suddenly snapped out of her trance and jumped back into the well. She kept her eyes open, watching as the ground got closer and closer.

wham

Yuka growled as she slammed into the brown earth, scraping one of her knees on a nearby bone. "Damn this thing."

Grumbling, she climbed back out and dusted herself off before she tried again, this time closing her eyes, as if by this act she would pass through the well.

Again she hit the bottom, and she climbed back out, glaring at the well angrily. "Stupid thing!" She cursed it, kicking the side in her frustration. "How the hell do I get home?!"

She stopped as she heard someone coming through the bushes. "Who goes there?"

Several young men came out with bows and quivers of arrows on their backs. They took one look at her garbs before smiling

"Oh, it's the young miko." They greeted her happily, waving to her.

_'They know me?'_ Yuka walked up to them, smiling nervously. "Hey, uhm, I'm a little lost, can you help me?"

One of them cocked his head to the side slightly. "You're lost? Well, the village is right over that way." He pointed in the general direction. "We'd gladly escort you, but we're hunting right now, gomen nasai."

Yuka bowed to him, beaming. "Thank you very much, you've helped me a great deal." She said before starting toward the village.

Suddenly, she remembered her question from earlier. "Oh, wait, what year is it now?" She asked curiously.

"The year, M'Lady?"

"Yes!"

"It's 1497."

Yuka's mouth fell open, but she quickly thanked them and ran off.

"Strange, the miko did not even know the year. . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yuka gasped for her breath as soon as she thought she was far enough away from them. "F-fourteen. . .ninety-seven?" She breathed, her sides heaving.

Shaking her head, Yuka continued toward the village the hunters had told her about. "And they thought I was some miko. . ." Yuka wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Damn, who cares about being a miko if everyone treats me THAT way, it's freakin' 1497! I went back about 500 years!!"

Yuka sighed as she stepped onto a dirt road and looked around to see the village to her right. "Well, can't hurt to check around, can it?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nervously, Yuka noticed that she received many stares from the villagers. However, whenever she caught sight of them staring, they would quickly beam at her and wave, or offer her something. It was this way that she was fed and clothed that day.

_'Maybe I should dress in period. I mean, if this is 1497, I don't want to appear to be some miko in every town I go into. I'm already feeling guilty for eating that food that they gave me.'_ Yuka thought, looking over some clothes that a merchant had offered her. _'But this stuff is all flowery and girly. If I walk around like that, I won't get very far.'_

"Uhm, do you have more, uhm, boy-ish clothes?" She asked nervously.

The merchant smiled and nodded without a second thought and brought forth several more choices for her. "For the young priestess." He said, watching as she picked out what she wanted.

"Thank you very much, but please, I feel guilty for not giving you all something too." The merchant shook his head at her, happily refusing the yen she produced.

"You're blessing on my household is enough." He replied.

Yuka inwardly made a face. _'My blessing? Uh, ok, then.'_

She smiled at him. "Thank you kindly, I will not forget your generosity and I wish many years of good wealth for you."

The merchant smiled and waved as Yuka disappeared back into the crowd of people.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yuka looked at the clothes carefully, investigating them as she came to the outskirts of the town. "Well that was easier than I thought." She mused. "I didn't expect them to just give stuff to me for my 'blessing'."

Yuka looked back, noticing that the sun was setting and that everyone was starting to go back to their homes for the night.

_'Maybe I should leave some money at their houses to repay them. . .'_ Yuka bit her lip guiltily, and crept back into the village, hoping no one would spy her sneaking about.

Stopping first at the cloth merchant's house, Yuka looked through her backpack and gathered all the money she had. _'This is yen though, they didn't use yen back in the feudal era. . .or did they?'_ Yuka made a face as she counted out her money and placed what she supposed would be a good enough amount inside of the house doorway when no one was looking.

_'One down, one to go.'_

Hefting up her bag, she felt like a burglar or even Santa Clause as she stole away to the house of the produce merchant.

Stopping again at the side of the doorway, Yuka counted out the money again, recalling what she had eaten and what he had given her that he said would provide as enough sustenance for several more days. _'There, that should be enough, I hope.'_

Yuka quietly snuck to the side of the house and stood, sighing silently so no one inside would hear her. _'I hope I'm not messing up the time line giving them yen.'_

Shaking her head at herself, Yuka looked around for some place to stay the night as she clutched her backpack, laden with her schoolbooks.

Suddenly the thought struck her. "Geez, I forgot about my homework."

Grumbling, Yuka decided it was best to change into her new clothes before trying to study.

Sneaking behind a bush, she changed rapidly before leaning against a tree, her books sprawled out around her.

"Ok, the first answer is. . ."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yuka woke the next morning, stiff and still tired. "Ugh." She commented standing and hearing her back crack in a disgusting manner.

"Damn, and I didn't finish my homework yet either." She grumbled, recalling how she had nearly fallen asleep, drooling on her math book.

"Oh well, it's not like I'm going home. . ." She growled, closing up her book-bag roughly and looking down a pathway that led through a thick forest.

"Great more forest, but oh well. Maybe someone in the next village will know how to get me home. Like a priestess or somethin'."

With that thought, she started off down the road, shouldering her backpack on one arm.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

At about mid-day, the sun became rather hot, and Yuka was looking through her bag for some kind of water and sunscreen.

"Great, I have neither. All I've got is some sunglasses, pssh." She growled to herself, slinging her bag over her arm again and placing the black sunglasses on the bridge of her nose.

"I hope there's some kind of stream or something around here so I don't die of thirst."

Making a face, she looked to either side of the road, the sunglasses glinting in the sun that shone through the leaves of the trees.

"Ah-ha!" She cried jubilantly, when she saw a stream far to the left of the path. "If only I had a water bottle with me. . ."

Walking over, she cupped her hands and took a drink, savoring the cold water. Smiling to herself, she took several long drinks, until she was sure that she wouldn't need any water again for some time.

Looking back wistfully, still wishing for a water bottle, Yuka went back to the beaten path, making her way to the next village at a steady pace.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Me again. As always, thanks for the reviews. Ja.

Review please!!


	3. Chapter 3

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 3:: Village 

Yuka came into the next town only an hour after finding the spring in the forest. "Weird, I thought villages in this time were farther spread apart." She mumbled to herself before entering.

The people paid her little mind, only a few of them staring at her sunglasses warily as she passed them.

"Hi." She greeted a man who was particularly watching her closely. "Take a picture." She grumped at him, making him turn away with a look of befuddlement on his face.

"Bunch of jerks, they act like they've never seen a pair of sunglasses before." She was about ready to hit herself as the sentence came out. _'Of course they haven't seen any before, it's only 1497.' _

Mulling it over, Yuka wandered where she might be able to get a bath at.

Seeing no bathhouses, she made a face and went up to the first merchant she spied.

"Excuse me, ma'am." She drew the attention of the merchant's wife. "Where is the nearest bathhouse around here?"

The woman looked at her questioningly. "The nearest what?"

"You know a place where I can-"

Yuka broke off as a booming noise was heard nearby, and planks of wood shot through the air, dust and smoke filling the air around them.

Coughing, Yuka covered her nose and mouth with the sleeve of her shirt, wiping the dust from her sunglasses so she could see.

_**"Kyyaaaaaa!!!"**_

Screams erupted from the people as they started to push each other this way and that, not waiting until the dust settled enough for them to see correctly.

Unable to make her way through, Yuka went along with the crowd, looking over her shoulder and hoping that everything would be ok.

The crowd she had been following suddenly thinned, and she found that she was finally able to choose her own direction. Immediately, she bolted for the quickest way out of the dust storm, looking back over her shoulder as she ran to make sure no one was following her.

**whump**

Yuka crashed headlong into something that tossed her backwards, onto her butt. Groaning, she checked to make sure her glasses had not been tossed before looking up to see a strangely dressed man with a curved sword smirking down at her. "Hey cutie." He greeted her with a wave.

Behind her glasses, Yuka's eye twitched before she got to her feet and ran off into the dust, away from the strange man with the sword.

_'Oh Gods, I don't know what THAT was, but I'm gonna put as much distance between us before this dust cloud lifts.' _

She stopped dead as she saw another figure in the dust, yelling orders to two others on his left.

Making a little 'eep' sound, Yuka turned back about and raced through the dust cloud again, wishing she could just escape from the place.

With relief, she noticed that she was finally moving out of the shrinking dust cloud, and found herself in a spacey green opening behind the village.

Sighing with relief, Yuka looked back to see that the village was completely deserted, and that the dust was settling around the houses and shops quietly, not a sound heard.

"Weird. . ." She mumbled, backing away and watching the silent village carefully.

**bump**

She froze as she softly back into something that she was sure wasn't just a tree or a villager that had managed to escape the mayhem that had suddenly sprouted in the village.

Heart pounding, Yuka turned around and stared at a man that was about as tall as she was, with a giant sword slung over his shoulder and a smirk on his lips. His long, braided hair was black, and he wore armor all over him, as if he were a warrior.

Behind him stood three other men, one of them was the tall, girlishly dressed man from before. The other wore black armor, with three long black claw-like knives sticking out over his hands and jagged green streaks on both sides of his face. The last one seemed to be dressed like a monk, and was completely bald, with two long purple streaks starting at his jaw and continuing up until just above his eyes.

Yuka was thankful that her sunglasses hid her eyes, for they were wide with shock and fight. _'Oh shit, I'm dead.'_

"Looks like there was a survivor." The short man said, obviously the leader of the men.

"He's cute." The tall man with the curved blade giggled.

_'He?!'_ Yuka's eye twitched again. _'They think I'm a dude?!'_

"How should we get rid of him, Bankotsu?" The one with the green streaks asked the leader.

Bankotsu smirked at him. "We'll ask him, Suikotsu. Speak up, boy. How do you want to die?"

Yuka glared as she ripped her glasses off and the cloth she had been wearing over her short-cropped hair. "Boy?!" She growled angrily.

The tall man looked sick, turning pale as he spied her. "He's a she?!"

Bankotsu and the other two men looked startled as well. "A girl. . . ?" He asked, staring at her as he came forward. "In men's clothes. . . ?"

Yuka ripped her arm away as he started to examine her clothing. "Well the other stuff wasn't any good for walking in." She snapped.

"Girl's shouldn't wear men's clothes!" The tall man cried, his face finally regaining its color.

"You're one to talk!" Yuka snapped back at him.

The man made a face and brought forth his curved sword in his anger.

"Jakotsu." Bankotsu said sharply, and the tall man stood down, though he still looked angry.

Yuka folded her sunglasses and angrily pinned them to her shirt, watching the four men steadily.

"So, girl, why are you wearing men's clothes? Running away?" Bankotsu jeered at her.

"I already told you that the other stuff wasn't any good for walking in, my name is Yuka not 'girl', and I'm not running away from anything, I'm looking for something." She retorted.

Bankotsu raised his eyebrows at her. "Quite a tongue for a lady; and what, pray tell, are you searching for?"

Yuka crossed her arms. "That's my business, not yours."

"She doesn't like you, Bankotsu." The man with the purple streaks smirked.

"Haha, Renkotsu." Bankotsu replied blandly.

"Well it's obvious she's not going to tell you anything, why not just kill her?" Renkotsu asked, shrugging his shoulders.

The man Jakotsu nodded in agreement. "I hate to say it, but Renkotsu's right." He grumped. "Besides, it's a waste of time talking to her anyway."

Yuka stuck her tongue out at him. "Nyaah!"

Jakotsu raised his sword. "That's it!" He cried, waving the sword at her threateningly.

Yuka made a face at the sword, but stood her ground.

"Will you two stop?" Bankotsu growled.

Both Yuka and Jakotsu looked at him. "She started it, the little wench!" Jakotsu pointed his sword at Yuka who glared daggers back at him.

"Bunch of children." Renkotsu groaned.

"If you travel with them, that doesn't say much for you." Yuka shot at him.

Renkotsu opened his mouth to speak when Bankotsu interjected. "I said 'stop'!"

"Fine." They growled. All three of them still were glaring at each other.

A newcomer suddenly stepped in, smiling at them all. "Why don't we just go Bankotsu?" He asked the leader.

Bankotsu made a face at him. "Suikotsu, you have got to stick with one personality." He sighed. "Alright, come on men, our work is done."

Jakotsu looked disappointed. "Can't I kill the loud-mouth?" He asked.

"Which one?" Suikotsu joked, receiving a glare from both Renkotsu and Yuka. "Gomen nasai, Renkotsu, I couldn't resist."

"Both, but preferably the stupid girl at the moment." Jakotsu said with a smirk.

Bankotsu waved his hand at him. "No, we've done enough already. Besides, she doesn't live in this village anyway. And we need to get back to the Daimyou for our payment anyway."

Jakotsu was about to protest when Renkotsu broke in. "And the Daimyou won't know if some little whelp like her is still alive, so why bother? We get paid either way."

"But I want to kill it." Jakotsu whined.

"I'm not a thing!!" Yuka growled at them.

"Shut up." Jakotsu glared at her as the four men started to leave.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

Yuka glared at the retreating men, her fingernails biting her hands in her anger.

_'Ugh, I can't stand them!'_ She thought, wanting to go after them and give them a piece of her mind.

Raising one fist, she was about to start after them when common sense took over. _'Idiot, if you go after them, they'll kill you for sure.' _

"I'm not afraid of dying, I doubt they have the guts to strike me anyway."

_'Pssh, don't be a fool. They have weapons and they just killed a whole village like it was nothing, why would they not have the guts? Besides, do you really wanna die in a place like this, and so young?' _

Yuka gulped. "No." She grumbled to herself.

_'Then get out of here.'_

Sighing, Yuka turned to her left with one final look at the retreating men.

bbaabbaabbaabbaabbaabbaabbabbbabbabbabba

That was supposed to be Yuka arguing with herself about what to do. Usually, when I have things like that, people get confused, so Yuka was actually talking to herself there.

Also, sorry aboutt he page-break there. For some reason, none of mine work.

Thanks for yours reviews. You make me very happy. See ya'll soon. Ja'ne!!

Review please!!


	4. Chapter 4

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 4: Coincidence?

Yuka wandered aimlessly for the rest of the day, utterly lost and wishing she hadn't left the village with the well she had come out of in it.

"This is so stupid, whatever possessed me to walk out of that village? Sure, I couldn't get back home through that well obviously, but why did I ever think of leaving as the answer?"

_'Because you thought maybe a real miko could help you.'_ Her inner voice reminded her.

"But there was one in the village, those hunters thought I was her."

_'It was a relatively small village, idiot. Obviously, the miko they mistook you for isn't there often enough for them to remember her face very well, just her clothing.'_

"I wonder if they thought I was Kagome. . .I mean. . .she went through that well too, from what her family was saying. . .maybe I should go back and wait for her to take me home." Yuka mused to herself.

_'Yes, let's go back.'_ Her inner voice suddenly became mean and sarcastic. _'Only problem is that now we're hopelessly lost and there's no telling where that village is anymore!! You should have thought of that when we were back at the village!!!'_

Yuka sighed as she pushed past a bush, arguing with herself was starting to worry her. For all she knew, when she returned home, she would be a basket case, talking to herself all the time both inwardly and outwardly.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

Running a hand through her hair, she looked around.

Nothing but more and more forest surrounded her. Suddenly though she did a double take, for she would have sworn she had seen the corner of some white building through the trees.

Hopefully, she pushed through the thick foliage, twigs and leaves hanging from her dis-shelved hair.

_'It's a house, it's a house.'_ She chanted in her mind happily. _'I'm gonna get directions back to that village and look for Kagome, first thing.' _

Joyfully, she busted several branches that refused to let her past before stepping up to a house that took up most of what land had been cleared around it.

"Woah. . .it's a huge old mansion. . ." She breathed, looking upward. "I wonder why it's all the way back here though, no roads to it or nothin'."

Looking around, she found that it appeared empty.

"If this thing is abandoned I'm going to. . ." Yuka didn't finish her thought, hoping she wasn't jinxing herself by just guessing.

"Hello?" She called, opening a shouji door carefully and peeking her head through.

There were clean futons and other things inside, but no sign that anyone was occupying it at the moment.

"I wonder. . ." She started, looking over her shoulder and climbing inside nimbly, shutting the door quietly behind her.

"Looks like someone's been here, but isn't here now. . ."

Thoughtfully, she stepped out into the long, vacant hallway beyond the room she had entered into.

A shiver ran down her spine suddenly as the eerie silence settled.

"That always happens when I'm in a creepy place like this." She grumbled to herself before looking into every room, her cream school bag hanging from one shoulder.

"Hello?! Anyone home?!" She called, but only heard her own voice booming around her.

"Damn. . ." She sighed, sitting down in the middle of the hallway. Looking around, she wet her lips before letting out one final call.

"Well if no one's home, I'm staying here for the night!!"

No one answered, and Yuka became a bit disgruntled.

"Good!" She yelled, letting out her frustration.

_'I was really hoping for someone to be here so I could get back to that damn village.'_

Yuka changed back into her school uniform in the hallway - seeing as no one was there to spy on her.

_'I guess I could sleep in this. . .'_ She thought, making a face as she took out the twigs and leaves that were sticking in her hair and combing it as best she could with her fingers.

"This really sucks." Yuka grumbled, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes in thought.

After a moment, she grabbed up her stuff and looked around for a room. "Might as well make the best of it while I'm here though."

"Will you two stop fighting?!"

Yuka froze at the familiar voice. "No way. . ." She breathed tightly, clutching her backpack strap until her knuckles popped.

"He started it, the bald asshole!!"

"Whatever, freak."

"Guys, come on, don't fight. We just got paid, be happy, hm?"

Her heart pounded in her chest as their footsteps came closer.

Frantically, Yuka opened the first screen door she could find and shut it behind herself tightly, leaning against it and hoping they wouldn't find her.

Their voices came closer and closer, and Yuka prayed for her safety. _'Ugh, I'm dead, I'm dead.'_

Sweat broke out on her forehead as she heard their footsteps pass behind her.

"Can I kill him Bankotsu? Can I?!"

"No, Jakotsu."

"But he's a bastard!"

"I said 'no', Jakotsu."

"Hah!"

"Shut up you-!"

Their voices started to fade away down the hallway and they seemed to have entered another room.

Sighing with relief, Yuka picked up her bag and opened the door a touch, looking out cautiously.

Tense, she held her breath as she creeped out of the room, making sure not to make any noise.

"Hold on, I think we have some in the storage."

Yuka froze as Jakotsu stepped out of the room from down the hallway and immediately caught sight of her.

For a moment, they just stared at each other, Yuka gulped down a wave of anxiety and fear. "H-hi."

**_"Bankotsu!!!"_**

"Ack!" Yuka immediately found that she could run, and tore down the hallway, looking for some way out that was easy.

"It's the girl! She's in the house!!"

A roar of outrage was heard from the room, and she heard their footsteps thundering on the wood after her.

_'I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead.'_

* * *

Well, this week was eventful. I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to update because of a camping trip, but it was canceled at the last minute because of the hurricanes. I don't live near the hurricanes if that's what you're thinking, but we get a lot of the leftover rain, and it wasn't a good idea to go down if it was going to be wet and rainy. Water floods the creek and we get stuck until it clears out, which could take a decent amount of time considering where this place is located.

Anyway, enough of my drabble. Thanks for the reviews, I hope you all enjoyed and see ya next week! Ja'ne!!

Review please!!


	5. Chapter 5

No One Like You

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 5:: Hostage 

Yuka gasped for air, sweat forming on her forehead and temples from the wild chase.

"Stop!"

Yuka made a face and tried to pick up her speed, but she was already tired, and she was wearing out fast.

Frantically, she turned the corner, knowing what would happen next as she felt her socks slipping on the wood underneath her feet.

Her entire form started to sway sideways to try and balance herself, but it was too late, she was falling already.

**wham**

Yuka groaned as she hit the ground, her hip stinging from taking the brunt of the blow.

"Well, what do we have here?" Bankotsu asked as they came to a halt behind her, not one of them looking winded from the run. "If it isn't the little girl from earlier."

Yuka grit her teeth. "What of it?!"

"I didn't think you would come here, seeing as you're 'searching for something'."

Yuka glared at him. "I need to sleep every once in a while." She snapped.

"Bankotsu, her clothes." Jakotsu whispered in his ear as Yuka spoke.

"What?!" Yuka snapped at them as she noticed their stares.

"What did you say your name was?"

"If you don't remember, then I'm not telling!" She growled back, sticking her tongue out at him.

Bankotsu ignored her comment. "Where did you get these garbs?" He asked, looking closely at her fuku.

"What is it with you and my clothes?!" She demanded. "This is my school uniform for your information!!"

"It's the same as that girl Kagome's clothing." Suikotsu noted out loud.

"Kagome?! You know Kagome Higurashi?!" Yuka gasped, startling them.

"Yeah, how do you know her?" Bankotsu questioned.

"Wench. Filth." Jakotsu growled to himself.

"She's my friend, we go to school together. Where is she?" Yuka was excited now, hoping to get home.

"With Inuyasha of course." Bankotsu stated. "And if you're here, they'll be sure to come looking for you, and Inuyasha will have to stay for a fight to the death."

Bankotsu seemed pleased with himself, until Yuka said flatly: "Kagome doesn't even know I'm here."

"W-what? But you said you were friends!"

Yuka nodded. "We are, but she doesn't know that I fell down the well. In fact, she doesn't even know that I know her secret. So that kinda deflates your plan there huh?"

Bankotsu shrugged. "Not really, we'll just find him instead."

"W-wha-?"

"You mean we're gonna see Inuyasha?" Jakotsu cheered.

"Tch, yeah, but you'll have to put up with a _girl_ until we find him." Renkotsu sneered, looking sidelong at Jakotsu.

Jakotsu made a face. "Well, if she'll be luring Inuyasha out, I can tolerate her." He grumbled, though he didn't seem pleased at all with the idea of a girl hanging around.

"Suikotsu?" Renkotsu looked to the only one who hadn't put in his two-cents.

"I don't mind, whatever the leader says."

"Then it's decided!" Bankotsu said triumphantly. "You'll be our hostage until we find Inuyasha."

"Hostage?"

* * *

Yuka protested loudly to the idea of being a hostage, but under the threat of being bound and gagged, she reluctantly submitted to be the hostage.

_'This sucks.'_ She grumbled inwardly, fingering the strap of her backpack. _'Why did I go down that well? WHY?!'_

"What's the girl got?" Jakotsu asked as he saw Yuka pull some books, pens and paper out of her bag.

"I'm writing my last will and testament." Yuka joked harshly as she tried to do some of her homework.

"Girls can't read or write. There are even men that don't know how." Jakotsu protested, glaring at her.

"By that he means that he can't." Renkotsu said, receiving a glare from Jakotsu.

"Well, I can read AND write. Everybody where I come from can." Yuka grumbled, not looking up from her work.

"That's impossible, it's forbidden for girls to learn how to read or write." Bankotsu pointed out.

"Well, where I come from, there is no such rule. And if there was, then I could really care less."

"Where IS this place 'where you come from' anyway? It seems to be pretty lax about what it teaches and what the rules are." Jakotsu piped up. "You haven't named it once, you keep calling it 'where I come from'."

Yuka shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I come from Tokyo, of course."

"Where?"

They all were watching her with raised eyebrows. "Tokyo. . .it's a big city, the capitol of Japan in fact."

"What are you blabbering about?"

Yuka pulled out her history book and skimmed the pages. "Oh, uh, never mind. . .it's not in this time yet, my bad."

"Not in this time yet?"

Yuka looked unsure for a few minutes, deciding on whether she should tell them where she came from or not. _'Not like they'll believe me anyway, but. . .better not tell them. . .'_

"Nothing important, just thinking." Yuka said with a smile, closing the book sharply and going back to her work.

"Hey! You brat, tell us what you're hiding!!" Jakotsu cried, outraged at her.

"I'm not hiding anything, and why would you wanna know about where I live anyway?!"

"Because you're obviously hiding something! I'll bet you're a youkai wench!"

"A WHAT?! Why would I be a demon?!"

"You know how to read and write, yet you're a woman, so you must be!!"

"You're insane!! What does that have to do with my being a demon?!"

"Because all demons know how to read and write, that's why!!"

Yuka growled in frustration. "You are obviously delusional! Youkai DO NOT EXIST!"

The skin underneath one of Jakotsu's eyes twitched with rage. "You're the one who's crazy, wench! Youkai DO exist, you idiot!"

"WILL YOU TWO STOP?!" Bankotsu roared more out of frustration than anger.

"Children." Renkotsu mumbled.

Yuka and Jakotsu glared at each other; all of them could tell it was going to be a long day tomorrow.

* * *

Well, I'm back with another chaoter. In case you couldn't tell by now. **Sarcastic laugh**

Ok, enough of that; thanks for your reviews as always. I'm really enjoying writing this, and I feel better about it knowing that someone is actually reading it out there. **Pleased Grin**

Thanks again, and I'll see you all soon. Ja'ne.

Review please!!


	6. Chapter 6

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 6:: Hate You 

It was her third day being a hostage, and Yuka was thoroughly despising it. How long did they plan to make her march with them? Sure, she was used to walking for long periods and with a heavy load thanks to the large size of her high school and the weight of her pack, but she definitely wasn't used to walking from dawn until dusk _every_ day!!

She had made up her mind that she would not tell them of her discomfort though. Despite the sore muscles, lack of sleep, and sores on her feet, she was not about to mention any form of weakness to them.

It wasn't Bankotsu or Suikotsu, really, that she was afraid of bruising her pride, but rather Jakotsu and _especially_ that **jerk** Renkotsu! Her teeth ground as she remembered the superior smirk that he had given her when she stumbled the day before. How she hated him! He irritated her to no end!

_'Ugh! It's like having a really annoying older brother!! I can't stand those kinds of guys! Doesn't he have anything better to do than bug me?!'_ Her mind swam with anger and she was again ignoring where she was going. Yuka stopped as she was about to tramp right into a rather large hole in the ground. Aware that she probably would have twisted her ankle badly from the fall, she wrinkled her nose at it in distaste.

"What are you staring at a hole in the ground for, wench?" Jakotsu asked smugly as he passed.

Yuka's temper instantly flared and she turned on him, her anger shining brightly in her eyes.

She was not used to her temper coming tot he surface so often, and she found that this made her even more irritable. Unused to the sudden change in her mood pattern, her mind and body were bruised as one as they tried to adjust to the new surroundings.

Jakotsu just smirked at her, aware that Yuka could do nothing to him, and that any verbal assaults was beyond her in this state.

Yuka, also, was aware that she could hold no arguments with her anger blinding her. Turning away, she let her hair flow around her head as she jerked it sharply. It gave off just the tone she wanted, and she could almost feel Jakotsu's sudden flaring anger.

Renkotsu smirked, though neither of them noticed. He would not admit it, but the girl had guts for someone that looked like she would die if she were left on her own. His face turned back to impassive though, as Suikotsu turned to look at him. Still, the man had seen the smirk and smiled brightly back at his fellow warrior. Renkotsu, embarrassed slightly, turned his head away, appearing to investigate something far away.

* * *

Bankotsu and Jakotsu had gone off to the Daimyo's fortress alone later that day, giving the others time to rest. Yuka had gladly accepted, her legs hurting her severely. She winced as she sat down near a tree. She had not yet come to trust either of them, though Suikotsu seemed all right when he was his regular 'doctor' self.

Still, she watched them suspiciously for a few moments before turning back to her own business. Since there was nothing else to do, she had occupied herself by trying to keep up with her studies and reading the few books that she had with her. Which was a book she had been assigned to read for class, and another that she was just reading for fun. Even though she had never really considered reading fun.

Yuka felt eyes on her as she skimmed the pages and she looked up with a defiant glare, already knowing which of the two men was watching her.

"What in the hell is the matter with you?" She barked at Renkotsu angrily. "Never seen a book before?"

His brows came together in anger, his eyes narrowing into a glare. Though he was angered, Renkotsu still held a tight control over his anger. Unlike the teenager, he had mastered his emotions and tamed them about as much as a human could have control over their emotions. "I have seen a book before, idiot. Is it a crime in your country for someone to wonder what a girl is reading?" He snapped back at her.

Yuka wanted to throttle him, take out all her anger and frustration on the older man, but she was aware that she was not strong enough and held herself back. Glowering, she raised the book so that it hid her face. "It's too smart for you." She contented herself with the harsh remark.

Renkotsu shifted in his seat on a large rock not too far from her. His bandanna slipped slightly and he fixed it, his nerves tense from her arrogant tongue. "Do they allow girls to speak that way in your country, or are you just strange? Maybe that's why you and your friend are out here, so far away from this 'home' of yours?"

The book came down so that he could see her infuriated eyes. Smirking, he was glad to see that he had hit a sore spot.

"No." She replied tersely. "Where I come from women have equal rights, and we don't take any shit from weirdo's like you." Huffing, she heaved the book back up over her eyes.

Renkotsu opened his mouth to speak again, when Suikotsu interjected. He could see where the conversation was going to go. Eventually, they'd have their hands around each other's necks, trying to throttle one another. Sighing, he decided that it was his time to set the 'good' example.

"I wonder when Bankotsu and Jakotsu will be back?"

Renkotsu looked at him sharply, his anger diverted from the girl to the doctor now. "They just left. They won't be back all day."

From Yuka there came a long, frustrated sigh. _'Guess that means I'm stuck with these two for the whole damn day.'_ She thought, her eyes no longer were reading, but going over the same paragraph over and over until it was burned in her memory.

A tense silence fell over them all, and Suikotsu dejectedly wondered if he should have just let them fight. Anything would be better than the overwhelming utter silence in the clearing. Even the birds had stopped singing, fleeing from the sound of the loud quarreling.

Gruffly, Renkotsu broke the silence with a question: "So, what are you reading, wench?" His narrowed eyes slid her way, one brow raised in slight question.

The book came down so that she could glare at him over the rim of it again. She watched him steadily for a moment, deciding whether he was seriously asking her, or if he was in some way trying to offend her again. After finally seeing that he was serious, she sighed and let the book flop down into her lap as she un-bent her knees. Exasperated, she held it up in one hand as if it were diseased and waved it at him with half-lidded eyes. "It's my Biology book, alright?"

He watched her for a moment before she disappeared behind the book again. After a moment of silent contemplation, Suikotsu asked the question he had been about to inquire her for. "What is this 'Biology' that you are reading about, Miss Yuka?"

Yuka popped out from behind her book and stared at him with a mixture of annoyance and anger. "Well, it's no use reading it anymore, I can't concentrate." She began, pointedly glancing at Renkotsu. "And it's something for my. . .uh. . .studies abroad."

It had taken her a moment to find the right words for it. She didn't want to explain it as 'school' for fear of more questions; and she certainly didn't want to let on as to where she had actually come from.

"Studies abroad? Is that why you were traveling?" Suikotsu was trying to make pleasant conversation now that she seemed willing to talk in a regular manner again. So long as Renkotsu didn't interject, he was sure that he wouldn't have to hear anymore arguing that afternoon.

Yuka crossed her legs and scratched the top of her head in thought. "Uhm, well, yeah sorta." She said, looking skyward for some form of an answer. "Yeah, I came here for studies in the culture outside of our own when I fell down this rather large hill that we all called 'The Well' and ended up lost."

"How could you have gotten lost when all you did was fall down some stupid hill?" Renkotsu snorted indignantly at her. He could tell when someone was lying rather easily, and he could tell that she was skilled in the art, but no where near good enough to fool him yet. Though Suikotsu seemed to have bought right into it.

Yuka looked over to him sharply, her lips thin in her sudden, fiery anger. Her eyes flew with sparks that threatened to burn him alive if he got too close. "I was knocked unconscious from the fall and some old guys came and helped me. They thought I was some priestess, I learned of my friends coming there, and promptly left to find her." She spat this all out rather fast, trying to keep the facts straight in her head for future reference. She knew she would need it too. Now that she was getting some story concocted, she would need to make sure that not one part was different from another so that this group of men would believe her and leave her alone about her home.

"What kind of language to they teach you there? Such a strange tone of voice and so many words in your speech have been cut of formality. What do they call this?" Suikotsu spoke up, as he tried to avoid yet another argument between the two.

Yuka looked to him and her features softened, though her rage was still imminent in her glowing eyes. "It's called Japanese still. My generation just doesn't follow the rules of. . .formality. . .very well sometimes." Her eyes narrowed and she seemed to be glaring at some past memory for a few brief moments before she snapped back out of it.

"Ah, I see. . ." Suikotsu decided to end the little interview for the moment. Something seemed to bother the girl about talking about her homeland, and he didn't wish to press her and make her ill willed toward him.

Yuka immediately picked up on what he was doing and looked at him sidelong through the half-lidded eyes. They shown with annoyance, but there was a strange form of comfort in her tone as she spoke. "You don't have to stop asking questions cuz I'm angry. Go ahead and shoot all you want."

Suikotsu looked up at the strange term, raising both eyebrows in stunned confusion. Renkotsu seemed equally as curious, but not as much of it shown on his face as Suikotsu's did.

Yuka noticed almost immediately what it was that he was so excited about and quickly corrected her speech. "Oh, uh, that means you can go ahead and ask me all you want where I come from. I'm sorry, I forgot you probably didn't know what I was talking about." She smiled weakly at him, sweatdropping slightly at her foolish mistake.

"You're forgiven." Renkotsu replied pompously.

Yuka's eyes and demeanor changed almost instantly again as she growled menacingly at him. "I wasn't talking to you, idiot! I was talking to Suikotsu-san!" She snapped angrily.

Renkotsu narrowed his eyes, and they began what would appear to be a staring contest.

Suikotsu, feeling trapped in the middle of it all hastily tried to regain some control over the matter. "Miss Yuka –"

"You can just call my 'Yuka'."

"Uhm, fine. Yuka, where does this home of yours lie?" Suikotsu asked. Always polite, he felt odd using her name as if he knew her well enough when in fact he knew nothing about her at all. But if she were willing to let him call her that – no, demanding that he call her that, then he would comply without question. Despite the awkwardness.

Yuka's eyes did not leave Renkotsu's the whole time as she replied: "Sorry, it's very hush-hush."

He raised an eyebrow, but received no explanation, so decided to question that as well. "'Hush-hush'?"

"Can't tell you." She replied simply.

"I see. Can you not even describe it to us?" He tried to persuade her, for he was very curious, but he could not blame her for not wanting to tell them. After all, she was just a hostage with no guarantee that she would be kept alive after she had fulfilled her purpose of helping them meet up with that Inuyasha character again. So why would she trust them enough to tell them anything about her home and who she was? She might not act it, but he was sure that inwardly she was sacred of them.

Yuka finally broke her gaze from Renkotsu's. He smirked, considering this a submission on her part. "Well. . ." Yuka thought about the busy streets, her giggling friends, the traffic, the school, the overwhelming everything. There were no beautiful, untouched forests like this one anymore. Everything had been mapped out and charted in her world, in this one everything was so new and crisp. It made her feel better than being stuck at her house. ". . .You guys wouldn't like it." She said simply, her eyes wandering a little.

"How do you know?" Renkotsu demanded. He never liked anyone telling him what he would or would not like, especially some girl he barely even knew.

Yuka looked at him slyly. "Because I like it."

* * *

Hmm. . .trying for more detail in the story here. **sweatdrop** Heh.

Not much to say for an author's note her, sorry everyone. Except to thank my reviewers, of course. **smile** You guys are awesome, thanks minna-san!!

See you soon! Ja'ne!

Review please!!


	7. Chapter 7

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 7:: First Sight 

Bankotsu and Jakotsu had come back early the next morning, something that agitated Yuka for some reason.

As mentioned before, she seemed irked by every little thing lately, and having them show up after a long night of fitful sleep and strange, foreign noises, demanding that she get to her feet ('wench') and start marching was all too much! She was tired, and a tad frightened by her surroundings.

It was one of the only nights she had ever spent outdoors with nothing to cover her. No blanket, no sense of being protected, and definitely no idea what all the noises around her meant. Sure, she suspected there to be wild animals lurking about, but being unable to see in the pitch-blackness of the night only made it worse.

She had shivered as she had leaned against a tree as her bed, and had nearly chattered her teeth out of her head when the morning dew landed on her body. She had never been so exposed in her life and it was making her feel ill.

Grumbling, she had gotten to her feet when Jakotsu and Bankotsu had arrived (and in high spirits of all things!). Promptly, she had walked over to them and glared up at them through sleep-bleared eyes. Her eyes were narrowed enough to make it look like she was squinting to see their faces, and she was aware that she must look like a fool.

Both men were frowning at her, after all, she was the 'hostage', she had no right to be angry with them. Despite this, she dared to defy them by glaring. At this point, Yuka had forgotten what she had planned to say to them in her rage at all the events. All she knew was that these two unfortunate men were the closest ones to her at the moment when her anger had met it's peak.

"What's the matter with the wench?" Jakotsu asked, though he was demanding it of her, and not of Bankotsu.

Yuka's eyes flickered to him before she let them widen to their normal narrowed form. Stepping back, she huffed at them, visibly showing that she was upset. "Tch, nothing." She snapped at them both.

"Good." Bankotsu said in a cheerful tone, though she could catch a hint of 'no-nonsense' in it too. Despite his warm smile, she could tell her greeting angered him. "Because we'll be going now."

Yuka sighed, ruffling her bangs. "Fine." She grumbled, looking away.

She had also learned not to resist. She had other ways to make them angry, and stall them, but they were still killers and had threatened to kill her if she caused _too_ much trouble for them.

Needless to say she heeded these warnings for she definitely did not want to die in this scum pit. Every morning she half-hoped that they ran into Kagome and whoever this 'Dog-Demon' was. Jakotsu seemed to really like him, and Bankotsu seemed to want to kill him. Renkotsu and Suikotsu's connection to the man was still unclear to her, but she figured they came along just because Bankotsu ordered them to.

So, she was once again trudging along behind them like baggage.

Yuka was so tired that she was sure she would fall asleep as she was walking. Stumbling, she corrected herself, taking a double-step forward. Unconsciously making a groggy noise, she put one hand to her swaying head.

Her footing slipped again, and she was sure that if she hit the ground, she would be asleep before the hit had even registered in her mind. But instead of cold earth, she felt strong arms pushing her back to her feet as she tilted too far to one side.

"Do you need some help?" Renkotsu's voice was gruff, and she knew he was making fun of her instead of asking if she was ok. Growling at him, she pulled away from his arms.

"Get off." She grumbled, narrowing her eyes. Her head gave a dangerous throb, and she made another protesting noise against it.

He snorted at her effort to make it on her own. He had to congratulate her on her endurance and persistence, he was sure that she would have given in to whining by now, like other women. Then again, he reminded himself so often, she was not like other girls he had come across in his travels. Her dialect was different, her tongue was sharp, she seemed intelligent and clever, and she kept mostly to herself. She would not confide in anyone, though he didn't expect or wish for her to. The last thing he needed was a hysterical woman hanging around.

Renkotsu relinquished her arm without much thought to it, hiding a laugh on her account.

Yuka glared at him, taking two large paces away from his personage. "Don't get too far away, a youkai will pick you off." He warned with a smirk.

Yuka stuck her tongue out at him like a child. "Nyah! You can't scare me with your stupid children's stories! I'm too old to believe in silly stuff like that!" She replied.

He chuckled. "You still don't believe huh?" He mused with another laugh. "Well, you just wait and you'll see what's so 'childish' about youkai."

Yuka huffed, turning her head sharply away, though it gave her another throbbing headache. "Fine!"

Around noon, Bankotsu allowed everyone to rest again. Yuka was desperate to rest by then. Every inch of her was throbbing from some sort of pain, and her head was still heavy with lack of sleep. _'This won't do me any good. I probably look like a wreck.'_ She thought dejectedly.

Sighing to herself, she leaned against a tree away from the rest of them. Despite Renkotsu's constant warnings about 'youkai' and not straying too far for fear of other bandits in the neighborhood, she refused to sit amongst them. No matter what she was, hostage or not, she would still refuse to sit with them with the way they treated her.

_'Like I'm some idiotic bumpkin of a child.'_ She grimaced at the thought. _'Geez, and I thought girls my age were supposed to be considered "grown-up" in this era!'_

Angrily, she picked at the dirt underneath her fingernails, turning her thoughts to other, lesser musings. While she sat, she heard something rustle, but immediately dismissed it as something that did not deserve her notice. She had been traveling through forests long enough to pretty much dismiss any noise that might have bothered her before. Besides, she had four strong warriors not too far away, and they surely didn't want their 'hostage' to get hurt.

Continuing to daydream, she ignored the continued rustling, even when it became louder and closer to her being.

"Girl." Renkotsu's harsh voice reached her ears.

Yuka pulled herself away from her thoughts and looked up sharply at him, narrowing her eyes to show her anger at having her thoughts interrupted. "What?" She asked grumpily.

"Come here." He ordered sharply, urgency in his tone.

Yuka did not pick up the urgency though and narrowed her eyes further in annoyance. "Why should I?" She asked warily, turning her head to one side in question.

"Do as your told, you fool." He said, rising to his feet. He started to stride toward her and Yuka immediately was on her feet as well, prepared to fight him if he dared touch her.

Yuka's eyes widened as she caught the continued rustling in her left ear, and saw the strange, determined look in the man coming toward her. From behind him, the others watched curiously, obviously as confused as she was.

Yuka blinked, turning her head slightly and shakily, fear suddenly gripping her.

"Move, girl! NOW!" Renkotsu ordered loudly and sharply. Yet Yuka was frozen to the spot as her gaze fell on four large, red eyes peering at her from a pale white face.

Her mouth opened and she gave a surprised shriek. "E-eh?!"

A hand grabbed her shoulder and she was forcefully pulled back from the leering rat youkai, all four of his red eyes blinking at her at different times. Renkotsu walked steadily toward the youkai and glared down at it.

It was large enough, and was standing on its back legs so that it could glimpse into Yuka's startled eyes. A nasty set of teeth stuck out from its upper lip and hung down over its lower lip. The youkai had bristling white hair that only made its red eyes seem to glow in the dim light under the trees. It hissed as Renkotsu came closer, dropping down to all fours and arching it's back so that it's vitals were not within his range and so that it could snap out at him if he dared try to harm it.

Renkotsu only narrowed his eyes further on the rat. By the time it had dropped down to all fours, it was barely as tall as his kneecap and even on its hind legs it had only barely two-heads shorter than the man was. Not that height made much difference in battle.

Renkotsu stopped five feet from the hissing rat that had coiled itself up on the ground. Yuka stood behind him, both frightened and amazed at what she was seeing. A youkai! So he had been telling the truth the whole time! Beating herself up inwardly for not listening, she watched with fascinated eyes, no longer afraid of it now that she had someone to protect her. And the thing looked so tiny and insignificant anyway, why worry?

"Get lost." Renkotsu ordered it in a harsh tone.

It hesitated for a moment, still hissing though only in spurts. It's tail and fur were twitching with anger, but it no longer seemed as much of a threat now that Renkotsu hovered over it.

Giving a final hiss of disdain, it turned and fled into the undergrowth, it's tiny legs carrying it as fast as it could. Yuka withheld a giggle at the beast, for it's tiny legs and the speed at which it was trying to travel, made it wobble and waddle like a duck.

As it disappeared, Renkotsu turned back to her and gave her a steady, hard look. "Now do you believe in youkai?"

Yuka smiled brightly, not hiding her obvious joy. "That was so cool!" She said excitedly. "Do you get to see them a lot?"

Renkotsu raised his eyebrows at her, seeming displeased and astounded by this reaction. Behind Yuka, the other three men seemed just as surprised by her reaction as Renkotsu. "There was nothing at all 'cool' about that. Whatever that word means. Youkai are very dangerous. You're lucky it was only a lesser youkai that didn't wish for a fight and was only curious. Fool."

This was met with nods of agreement from the others as well. Yuka immediately fumed, though she was still curious about the youkai. "You won't be so lucky the next time you come across one, trust me." Renkotsu grumbled before he walked back over to his seat wearily.

Yuka clenched her fists at her sides, biting back a retort. He was right, and she knew, but she didn't at all appreciate his 'explanation' of it at all.

Suikotsu sensed that she was angry and beckoned her to come to him. "Yuka-san, you seem hurt, here let me take a look."

Yuka looked to her arm and sure enough, there was a long, narrow slit from elbow to wrist. Raising her eyebrows at it, she investigated it for a moment before walking quietly toward Suikotsu and sitting down with her legs crossed.

The others watched in mild interest, the mild shock of seeing Yuka act calmly toward one of them setting in. She watched, her lips parted as she watched Suikotsu gently turn her arm this way and that.

He beamed up at her finally. "It is only a minor cut, must have received it from the youkai without knowing it. Not too deep, and if you have it bandaged and the blood cleaned, you should avoid infection of any kind."

Yuka gave him a small smile back. "Thanks. But I-" She stopped herself short, remembering that everything in this day and age wasn't as sterile and clean as it was in her age. "Thank you. And I told you not to call me 'Yuka-san.'" She reiterated, trying to cover her broken thought.

Suikotsu shifted uncomfortably, though still smiling at her. "Sorry, Yuka-sa- er, Yuka." He said, sweatdropping at his mistake.

Yuka laughed at him as he brought out some of his medical supplies and started to bandage her small wound.

Jakotsu frowned, making a face at the beaming girl. "What are you so happy about, wench?" He asked dully.

Yuka looked at him sharply and Suikotsu peered up from his work, as if begging Jakotsu not to start a fight with the girl. "What? I'm not allowed to be happy now?" She asked through narrowed, displeased eyes.

"Nah, you're just _never_ happy. It's odd. You and Renkotsu act so much alike it's scary sometimes." Jakotsu noted, still not putting much of a tone behind his words.

Yuka and Renkotsu both seethed for a moment before both yelling at the warrior. "I do not act like her!" "I do not act like him!!"

Both gave him an outraged look, fire seeming to spout from their nostrils. Looking up, they met each others eyes and turned gruffly away again.

Suikotsu sighed as he finished with Yuka's arm and gave it an affirmative pat. "Oh, thank you Suikotsu-san." Yuka said, forgetting her anger immediately as she investigated the wrapping.

"No problem, Yuka." He replied, smiling brightly at her again.

Renkotsu narrowed his eyes, not turning back toward the girl for he was still peeved at Jakotsu's analogy. "Learned your lesson?" He snorted.

Yuka smirked darkly, looking at him through narrowed eyes. "Yes. Bald old men scare tiny mice."

Renkotsu jerked around at her. "Why you little-!!"

Yuka stuck her tongue out again, laughing at him gleefully. "Yeah you just keep laughing! Wait until I get over there!!"

"If you can get up on your creaky old joints!!!"

"Argh!!! Hold still you impudent little whelp of a girl!!"

* * *

New chapter. Took me longer than I thought thanks to being too busy. **sigh**

Thanks for all your reviews, as always. I truly appreciate it.

I'll see you all soon! Ja'ne!

Review please!


	8. Chapter 8

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 8:: Dangerous 

Yuka had been playing 'hostage' for about a week, and she was aware that she needed a bath desperately. The men didn't seem to notice, for she knew that it was uncommon to bathe often in these times, but still, she could not stand going so many days without cleaning herself!

So, she began to plan how she would get a bath. She definitely wasn't going to tell 'them' that she wanted to stop, so she would have to go sometime when they had already stopped.

But there was still the problem of whether there would be a lake or a spring nearby. And she had nothing to bath with. Well, she had some soap with her that she carried around in case of emergencies. Ayumi always had a habit of spilling things on her school uniform, so Yuka had learned to always have soap handy so that she could at least get some small stains out. But it was mainly hand soap, it wasn't supposed to be used on the body. Yet it would have to do.

Sighing, she mused over whether nighttime was a good time to go or not. If the men were all asleep, then she was sure. But still, what if one of them woke up? It wasn't Suikotsu or Jakotsu she worried about, she knew Jakotsu wasn't a problem just from the way he acted toward women, and that Suikotsu, if he discovered her, would be proper about it. That left Bankotsu and Renkotsu. Bankotsu would just be grumpy about it, but she knew Renkotsu would be furious. He would probably think she was trying to run away or something.

Frowning, Yuka saw that she had very little choice in the matter. And she still hadn't figured out what she was going to do about towels to dry herself off afterwards. And her clothes needed washing too.

All these thoughts compacted into one big mess and she knew it was just stressing her out. _'Well, maybe they'll stop at some castle or something and I can get a **real** bath.'_ She thought hopefully, though she highly doubted her luck was that good.

"Hey, keep up the pace, wench." Renkotsu's voice broke in on her thoughts and Yuka found herself instantly enraged by his voice.

It didn't matter what he ever said, every time his mouth opened she felt like she wanted to scream and strangle him. She had never despised someone so much before.

"Will you shut up?" She demanded angrily.

"Watch your tongue, wench." He growled dangerously to her and Yuka felt her eyes narrowing further. Like hell she'd take this kind of abuse!

"Why should I?" She demanded angrily, though she was definitely moving faster than before.

Yuka's muscles had gotten stronger, and more used to the rough walking that they experienced from dawn until dusk, but still they ached with the need for rest often. Not only that, but her shoes were becoming torn and scuffed, and she had stopped looking at her socks, for they were sticking to her feet like a large, dirty parasite.

Renkotsu narrowed his eyes on her. "Don't argue girl, unless you want to lose your head." With that, he turned back away from her. Bankotsu said something that sounded like a reprimand to the taller man, but Renkotsu only snorted in distaste and replied in a harsh tone something that Yuka did not catch.

While he had turned away, Yuka had mimicked him sarcastically, wrinkling her nose and crossing her eyes as she flapped her jaws, protruding her tongue so that it appeared she was in same way mentally unstable. Taking one hand, she moved it open and closed, four fingers on top, thumb on bottom in the form of a mouth and moved it in synch with her own flapping jaws. Yuka topped all of this off by sticking her tongue out at him. "Stupid, ugly, old, bald, bastard." She grumbled away to herself, crossing her arms in a huff.

Suikotsu caught the movements out of the corner of his eye and withheld a chuckle at the teen. Jakotsu also watched but hid his amusement perfectly, though he wanted to laugh outright, he wouldn't allow the girl to see him laughing at one of her silly jokes.

It was then that Yuka made up her mind that she would defy his every order no matter what it took. Clenching her fists, she ground her teeth as she glared at him.

* * *

Night came and Bankotsu once again chose a spot right along the 'road' they were following. He never spoke of where they were headed, but the others seemed to understand, for they never questioned or asked how much farther. Yuka made a note to demand this knowledge at the next morning. Being out of the loop was pretty frustrating. Even if she was the 'hostage' that was supposed to shut and up and do as she was told or risk the pain of death, she wasn't about to give in that easy. She could be broken by no one.

She waited until she was sure everyone was asleep, closing her eyes herself, and she pretended to sleep. After everything had grown quiet except for the sounds of the night and the snores of the men around her, Yuka opened one eye a pinch and looked around her. In the dim light, she could see that they were apparently all asleep.

Smirking in triumph, she leaned slowly and silently toward her pack, which was becoming shredded and dirty like the rest of her belongings. Opening it, she was afraid that even the small noise of the zipper opening would awaken the slumbering soldiers. Licking her dry lips, she finally managed to open it and get her desired belongings out without much fuss from the backpack. And there seemed to be no disturbance among the men around her either. Tense, she got to her feet and gathered her few things that she needed in her arms.

Deciding that she would wear her men's clothing for now, Yuka went in search of a spring of some sort. She knew there had to be something of the like close by, for she would have sworn that she had heard the sound of something splashing in water not too long ago.

She pushed a bush aside, combing her hair with her fingers, she was glad to find that she thought she smelled water. The damp, crisp smell of clean water definitely hung in the air around her, and she almost pranced forward in joy of finally being able to take a bath.

Pushing some low hanging branches aside, she came upon a hot spring, steaming and beautiful in the cool, collected night. Yuka's eyes filled with relief and wonderment. Smiling gaily, she sat by the edge on her heels, testing the water with her fingertip.

Yuka pulled back almost immediately, eyes wide at the temperature. The spring was like a fire! It had scorched her finger, though she had been in hotter water at her home, she wasn't used to this after so many days without proper washing. A chill of shock rippled up her spine and made the hair on her neck and at the base of her hairline tingle and prick upward. She frowned slightly, though she had enjoyed the strange feeling, and looked about for signs of having been followed. It didn't appear that there was anyone around, and only the sound of night bugs and birds could be heard singing in the distance.

Biting on her bottom lip now, Yuka looked up in front of her, searching for a decent place to change before getting in the water. Frowning, she found that there was no designated area where she should disrobe, not that she had expected there to be so. Still, she was embarrassed about getting naked in the open, even if there wasn't anyone around to watch her. Sighing, she shrugged and got back to her feet. Walking around the edge of the spring, she went behind one of the larger bushes on the other side and got undressed, just in case one of her soldier 'friends' decided to come crashing through the bushes from where she had come while she was undressed.

Sill nervous, Yuka looked over her shoulders several times while she was changing, though her eyes always met empty air filled with grass, bushes, and trees. She reassured herself that no one was watching several times, but still she was anxious to get in the water and hide herself.

* * *

Something seemed to go off in his mind, for he had no idea what woke him. He had been sleeping so nicely for the first time in weeks, and suddenly he was awakened in the middle of the night by apparently nothing at all. And it was not a groggy kind of waking that he came to with, no, his eyes had opened wide suddenly, as if the expected to see something, shock hitting him as if he knew already what it was. Though he certainly did not.

Renkotsu blinked his eyes, looking around curiously at his fellow men. But all of them were sleeping fine. There was nothing wrong with this picture at all. He must certainly be out of his mind. Growling inwardly, he took one final sweep with his eyes, for something felt wrong, something was out of place.

His eyes halted when they came to the vacant area by the tree. A yellow – or what _should_ have been yellow – bag sat by the side, but in the roots there lay no sleeping female figure that usually accompanied it.

Renkotsu cursed, immediately on his feet as he realized why he had awoken. The girl had run off, or worse, had been spirited away by some foul beast, for there were no signs of other humans upon his swift inspection. Damnit, hadn't he told her that youkai were dangerous?! Growling audibly this time, he stepped forward, investigating the area more thoroughly for signs of escape, human or youkai. _'Well, she deserves whatever she gets if she got herself taken by some demon.'_ He thought angrily, though the idea of such of thing displeased him for some reason.

He calmed somewhat when he found that there were signs of her tracks leading through into the forest. Alone. He sighed and turned to see that still none of his comrades had awoken. He frowned at them, how could sleep through something like- oh, never mind it. Renkotsu turned away and headed off after her tracks, he could take care of this on his own anyway.

* * *

Well, that was rather interesting, eh? Poor Yuka-chan. . .**sigh**. . .

At any rate, I think I might have some RenkYuka fluff in the next chapter, not sure yet of it or not actually. But there should be some soon most definitely.

Thank you for your reviews, I truly appreciate it and love to see that so many people are interested in a RenkotsuYuka pairing. We're spreading the love!! Yeah!

**Ahem** Well then, thanks again and see ya next chapter!! Ja'ne!!


	9. Chapter 9

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 9:: Unwelcome Visit 

Renkotsu crashed through the bushes and trees, trying to remain as silent as possible, though it had always been hard for him to accomplish such a feat. Growling and grumbling to himself, his fists were clenched in his anger toward the teenage female that had suddenly gone missing.

_'What is she thinking? Walking around out here at night is more dangerous than trying to walk across a gorge on a rope!'_ Fuming, he rampaged onward, deciding that he would strangle her for being such an idiot. "Females. . ." He grumbled to himself.

* * *

Yuka scrubbed at her hair with her fingers, and ducked under the water again. Frowning at how dirty she was Yuka swam under the water, holding a large breath of air.

* * *

Renkotsu smelled the heated water before he had even opened up a passageway to it. Blinking, he saw the girl's footprints all over in the soft, wet grass. Crossing to the first place she had went he found her clothes in a pile and immediately his eyes widened. "What in all the hells?" He voiced his shock.

Looking around, he followed her footprints back to the water's edge and looked down. The water was still except for the sound of steam rising from it in the cool night. Watching the surface with a steady glare, he wondered briefly if she had drowned herself. _'But why would she drawn herself nude? And there's no body on the surface. . .'_

He puzzled over this even as his eyes caught a stream of bubbles that had suddenly come and broken the surface. First one bubble, then another and another until there was a great bunch of them popping as they came up. A shadow formed underneath them, and Renkotsu initially expected to see a demon fly from the water, but was shocked when Yuka's head bounced up instead.

Her back was to him, and she seemed unaware completely of his presence. Renkotsu glared at her, though he found it rather awkward that he be standing there when she was nude.

Still, it wasn't like he could see anything at present, not like he _wanted_ to either.

Blinking, he noticed that she must be able to swim well enough, and that such a fact would help Jakotsu in proving that the girl was a youkai like he so often claimed of her when he was angry.

Sighing, Yuka turned, her eyes half-lidded with some depressing thought. She seemed about to swim in his direction, for her arms moved out in front of her, but she stopped when her eyes fell on him.

Renkotsu prepared himself for an immediate scream, but at first, all she did was stare at him through her half-lidded eyes as if she were trying to figure out what was wrong with the picture. ". . ."

Though, as soon as he dropped his guard, her eyes widened, and she ducked under the water up to her chin, her arms folded in front of her protectively. Squinting her eyes shut tightly, she took in a quick, deep breath and let out a scream of not fear, but outrage. "Renkotsu you sick pervert!! Get lost!" She screeched shrilly.

Renkotsu dodged around the hot water she had started to splash in large waves in his direction. Yuka was still yelling threats and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Gritting his teeth in anger, Renkotsu knew that her making so much noise at night was no good. It would attract too much attention was unwanted listeners. Thinking fast, he tried to figure out a way to shut her up, though every time he opened his mouth to speak, he knew that his words would have no effect on the girl. She wanted him away as fast as possible and would only cry out louder if he told her to cease. _'She'll think I'm worried about the others figuring out that I'm out here.'_

Knowing that he had little choice in the matter, he groaned inwardly at what he knew he had to do. Diving into the water, he came up next to Yuka and quickly put one hand over her mouth. Securing her in spot by entwining his other arm around her waist, Renkotsu gave her a hard, steely glare. "Will you shut up, girl?" He snapped at her.

Yuka narrowed her eyes on him, flustered by how close he was to her being. Blushing madly, she kicked and tried to beat him off of her. Turning her head this way and that, she tried to free her mouth so that she could yell at him some more. Though she was already trying to talk, it was only muffled screams and cries of utter outrage. A few times, she tried to bite his hand, which Renkotsu gritted his own teeth against. "Someone might hear you!" Renkotsu hissed at her, knowing that his attempts at persuasion were failing horribly.

This was no way to stop her either; the stupid girl had worked herself up into a rage. "Yeah, wike 'or 'uddies." She spluttered in a muffled tone past his hand. It took him a minute, through her dialect and strange words what she meant, but he somehow knew what she was going on about from the beginning.

"No," He told her, still hissing at her as she splashed loudly in the water. "Something worse than them might hear you, fool."

Yuka still glared at him, keeping up her wild strugglers to become free from him. "Will you let go of me?!" She cried kicking and splashing harder than before.

Renkotsu, realizing how futile his attempts were, wondered if he should just leave and let whatever creature heard her wild cries take her. For some reason though, the idea struck a nerve in the back of his mind, and whatever being resided back there put down the thought without hesitation or reexamination.

Still, there seemed no way to get the message across to her how very much in danger she was. And he knew if she spoke those words, she would think that the danger was from him.

Soaked through and vexed to the boiling point, Renkotsu frowned further, hating this situation more and more. "I'm not enjoying this any more than you are." He informed Yuka in a steady tone, trying to find a more direct and calm way to speak with her.

She refused his efforts though, roaring outright as he added insult to injury. Screaming obscenities through his hand at him, she increased her wild motions, though the water still limited her kicks, her limbs were flying at his head and what part of his body stuck out above the water.

"Well, well, this looks comfy." Cooed a voice nearby. Renkotsu looked up sharply; knowing internally that the voice belonged to no human speaker. And indeed the man that stood, leaning against a tree, watching them with a smug smirk on his lips was no human at all. At least, Renkotsu could tell he wasn't. Yuka had never seen a youkai in a human guise before and was utterly fooled; though she knew he was no good.

When Renkotsu dropped his guard from her, Yuka took the chance to rip her face from his hand and duck underwater, swimming away from him and the other male. _'Gods why are there so many perverted guys in this time?! I hate to say it, but why couldn't it be Jakotsu instead of some other weirdo standing there? At least I know Jakotsu would be safer!'_

Growling to herself internally, Yuka came up out of the water gasping for breath, but still concealed herself from their gaze. Glaring, her eyes shot flames out of them at the offending males across from her.

Quickly, she tried to figure out someway to get away from them without revealing herself as well. Stuck up to her chin in water, her eyes darted from one male to the other. Renkotsu was sopping wet and had gotten out of the water almost as soon as she had broken away from him and now stood facing the newcomer, his eyes glowing.

Yuka looked to the other man and studied him for a moment, forming angry bubbles around her nose by spurting out air through her mouth that she had submerged under the hot water.

He had moderately long black hair that was so dark that when the moon hit it right, it looked purple in places. His eyes she could not tell the true color of, but she guessed that they were also of irregular coloration. He wore a smug smirk, and his strange eyes lit up when they met hers. Yuka narrowed her eyes when she saw his reaction and stopped forming the bubbles.

The unnamed male turned his attention back to Renkotsu, but one eye seemed to always follow Yuka if she moved even the slightest fraction of an inch. "I don't think I'll ever understand human activities." The male sighed.

Renkotsu's eyes narrowed, demanding an explanation without words.

"Here I was following the scent of some helpless female and when I get here some human's already beat me to it. And I always thought that human senses were dull in comparison to a youkai's." The man rubbed the back of his hand and shrugged one arm as he gave another sigh.

Yuka started at the mention of demons. This man before her was a. . .demon? But how was that possible, he looked absolutely human!! The youkai seemed to sense her sudden jolt of shock and looked sidelong at her, smirking. At that moment, he tilted his head to one side, and his ears were exposed. Unlike human ears though, they were both pointed extremely, like ideal elf ears almost. Yuka's eyes widened slightly, though they immediately narrowed again.

_'So, that bald bastard was just trying to get me away after all.'_ She thought bitterly but as the memory floated back, anger hit her again, pure and raw. _'But that was no reason to grab me like that the perverted old bastard!!'_

The demon watched as the moods on the girl's face changed rapidly from one to the other with interest. She seemed to be having some internal struggle. Smirking, his eyes lit back to the human that stood before him in sopping wet clothes that had dripped a large puddle around him in the grass.

"You wouldn't mind if I borrowed her for a little while, would you now?"

* * *

Songs for this chapter::

**_Cold_** – _'Stupid Girl'_

**_Breaking Benjamin _**– _'Firefly'_

Though the songs revolve around the story in general, I thought I should mention them sometime soon. **sweatdrop**

Well, well, what shall I do for the next chapter? Or rather – what will Yuka do? Poor, poor Yuka, I torture her so badly in this chapter. **Yuka hits V-chan with paper fan**

**rubs head** Ah, yes, well, thank you for the reviews minna-san! And for those of you that this may concern, please check out Skittlez, Pupp's and my Renk/Yuka shrine. I had very little input, actually, so the full credit should go to Skittlez and Pupp. Mind you – this site is still under construction. For the URL, check my bio, it's there above the 'Favorite Pairings' list. Please please visit even though it's still under construction!!

Thanks again. Ja'ne.

Review please.


	10. Chapter 10

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 10:: Girl's Got Spirit 

_**Smirking, his eyes lit back to the human that stood before him in sopping wet clothes that had dripped a large puddle around him in the grass. **_

_**"You wouldn't mind if I borrowed her for a little while, would you now?"**_

* * *

****

Yuka felt like she had just been struck for no apparent reason. Dumbly, she stared at the youkai with wide eyes, trying to comprehend what he had just said in such a smooth and perverse tone.

Renkotsu's teeth grated together with sudden anger and he watched the youkai even more intensely than he had before, as if expecting something to happen. The heel of one booted foot ground into the gravel and he felt compelled to run at him in a rage, though he knew the youkai was quicker that he, and so stayed himself.

"Youkai," He commanded the gaze of the creature – whose eyes were currently preoccupied with the human female – in a rough tone. The sensual, odd-colored eyes of the youkai lifted to him and the smug smirk implanted itself on his suave face once again.

"Eh?" He asked, quirking one eyebrow. "Do you think otherwise, human?"

Renkotsu's eyes flashed brilliantly in the moonlight with fiery anger. "Leave her be or you will regret it."

Yuka looked to him suddenly, puzzled and startled by his comment. Why did he care? Not that she was complaining, but why? Awkwardly, she sank deeper into the water, still beating herself up on the inside for this whole thing.

Still, she thought as she watched Renkotsu and the youkai, who knew if this meeting with the youkai was inevitable or not. What if she had been sleeping when he had happened by, and then Renkotsu would be near, but probably wouldn't notice her absence if the youkai had taken her secretly and swiftly? Puzzling over whether this ordeal was entirely her fault or not, the men went on talking, Renkotsu bordering furious anger.

"Regret it?" The youkai cooed, his smug look becoming even more annoying. "Is that a challenge?"

Renkotsu's eyes calculated the situation. He had meant it as a warning, which could be construed as a challenge, and at any rate, he had to have a plan if he was going to fight the youkai. This one could take a human shape, so he wouldn't be as easy to run off as the rat youkai had been, and was more than likely a good deal stronger. Mulling it over quickly, Renkotsu tried to suppress the anger trying to pull him under, to make him lose his mind and act upon the first thing that popped into his mind.

Yuka's eyes locked on his briefly, sending him a puzzled, possibly even frightened message with just a glance. His gaze moved back to the youkai. "It is." He confirmed, narrowing his eyes a touch more, his tone icy.

The youkai sighed, his expression drooping, though not losing that arrogant, self-assured aspect at all. "It's never any fun when I have to fight though." He seemed to be pouting to himself. Leaning against the tree still, he seemed to be pondering it all over, looking skyward out of the corners of his eyes. Suddenly, though, they hardened from their innocent demeanor and he shot Renkotsu a devilish look before, just as suddenly, he was gone.

Renkotsu started, waiting for an impact, but nothing came. Instinctively, his head swung toward Yuka who was watching with just as much childish fascination as she could muster at the moment. But behind it, he could see an inner dread growing. His stomach dropped out as he spied the youkai, his vision just stopping from blurring from the wild swing moments before.

Seeing his sudden change in emotion, and feeling some kind of warning bell go off in her mind, Yuka swung around as well and gasped as her eyes met the youkai's. _'Too close!'_ Something in her mind cried out even louder than she did as she pulled back, though the reaction seemed slow and useless in the water. Cursing her situation and herself again, Yuka brought up one arm in an act of defense.

The youkai took the chance and snatched the arm, twisting it and raising it above her head so that she couldn't get away or even struggle without sending a shooting, sharp pain up her arm and around her shoulder blade.

Yuka cried out again, this time in pained anger rather than shock, and kicked her feet uselessly under the water as she tried to relieve some of the pain. Renkotsu jerked to a halt, eyes wide and glaring at the offending male.

A dark chuckle echoed around Yuka and she shivered involuntarily. "Humans are so fun to toy with." He mused to himself. The girl that was pressed tightly against him squirmed, gritting her teeth in anger, as she peered upward to try and get a good look at him.

"Let go of me, you bastard." She hissed, noticing that her top was visible out of the water, and that was one of the last things she wanted either of them to see.

"I have no intention to quite yet, pretty one." He replied in that same seductive tone as before. Yuka's face lit up and she tried to push away from him again, ignoring the pain jolting through her arm.

"Youkai," Renkotsu hailed him now, trying to take his attention away from the struggling girl.

"Please, call me Sekushi." He replied in a mock polite tone.

"**Youkai**," Renkotsu continued forcefully, not allowing himself to address the youkai as if he were honorable to be acknowledged with a name. "Leave the girl be."

"Or what?" Sekushi challenged, smirking brightly, thinking himself to have won. "You humans always think that you can win when your mate is involved."

Something snapped in Yuka's mind. _'What did he just. . . ?'_ Her fright of the youkai was banished instantly, and an inner flame suddenly flared forth with such force that she was sure it would burst from her if it grew any larger. She had never been as angry as this. How dare the stupid bum think that she and Renkotsu were. . .and it was Renkotsu!! Her eyes widened and before she knew what she was doing, her fist had come up out of the water and was sailing straight at the youkai's face.

Startled by the sudden movement, the youkai tried to dodge, but by the time the thought had registered, it was already too late. Yuka's fist made a skull-splitting connection.

Something cracked loudly as fist-met face, and the youkai toppled backward. Furious, face red from anger and embarrassment, Yuka dove underwater and came up on the shore by Renkotsu. "Turn around." She ordered him sharply, as soon as her head popped from the water.

When he paused, she flung water at his feet. "I said turn around. Hide your eyes, dummy." She repeated tersely.

Renkotsu blinked at the unconscious youkai on the other shore. Where had this shrimp of a girl gotten the strength to. . . ?

"Hello?!" Yuka's anger flared when he continued to gawk. "Move it or lose it, buster! I wanna get dressed someday!!"

Renkotsu took a step back, frowning at her. Sighing to himself, he wondered how he had gotten himself into this mess and walked around the pool, going to the other side by the youkai and turning his back to her.

When she was sure that he wasn't looking, Yuka scuttled from the water to the place where she had hidden her clothes and quickly dried herself as best she could and put them back on. She felt remotely clean, but still she wished for a nice place to get soap and such things from.

When she was fully clothed, she came back out from her hiding space and walked over to Renkotsu who was stooped down to take a look at Sekushi.

She felt a small form of pride rise in her at her ability to knock out the youkai, but still, she wasn't sure if the action would prove for better or for worse in the future. Still, she couldn't very well have let him say and do things like that without retaliation could she? A girl's gotta take care of herself.

Renkotsu glanced over at her as she sat on her heels, looking over her own handiwork with a kind of innocent curiosity. Like she didn't understand what had happened herself. "How were you able to do this?" Renkotsu asked, indicating Sekushi's bloody nose and bruised cheek.

Yuka would have sword she had given him an uppercut, but then again, she hadn't really _seen_ what she had been doing in the first place. "Hell if I know." Yuka shrugged indifferently. "He was bein' an ass, so I hit 'im. I didn't expect _that_ to happen though."

Getting back to her feet, Yuka headed back to the place where Bankotsu and the others were. Renkotsu watched her for a moment before getting to his feet as well and catching her by the elbow. "Where are you going now?" He demanded a little angrily.

"I'm _going_ back to the camp." Yuka replied, pulling her elbow away from him. It just happened to be the same one that Sekushi had almost yanked off before. "Is there a problem with that?"

Renkotsu regarded her for a moment before turning away from her and walking back to investigate the fallen youkai again. Yuka huffed and turned back away, her short hair swishing around her in the sudden movement.

Stomping off through the forest, she hoped that no one was awake to question her when she returned. Most of all Jakotsu.

* * *

As the girl disappeared from sight, Renkotsu wondered briefly to himself what in all the worlds was the matter with her. She could be calm and nice when talking to Suikotsu or Bankotsu; she appeared almost human at those times. But whenever she talked to him or Jakotsu, she always seemed angry. Her demeanor changed so rapidly sometimes it was frightening, and Renkotsu found it puzzling that he had been so protective of her around the youkai male.

It had not been simply because she was a hostage, there was something more to it that he couldn't put his finger on. It was so strange, when the youkai had looked at her that way, when Renkotsu had thought about what might happen to her, he had become enraged. For some reason, to see her eyes filled with that strange fear was unsettling.

The rage filled him again as he looked down at the defeated youkai. He wasn't dead, and Renkotsu had half a mind to finish him right here and now. But that would be cowardly, to kill him when he could not defend himself. Sighing, he decided that the best thing to do would be to stick near to Yuka, and that way protect her from any other such incidences.

Still – he wouldn't say that there was anything to it. He was just trying to ease his own discomfort at seeing her hurt, it was nothing else. It was nothing else. . .

* * *

Songs::

**_SugarCult_** – _'Pretty Girl (The Way)'_

**_Disney's 'Hercules'_** – _'I Won't Say I'm In Love'_

Again the songs kinda revolve around the story in general, but some verses really seemed to fit this chapter very well.

Watch out for something rather surprising in the next chapter, and Jakotsu decides to have another go at Yuka about 'disappearing.' **grin**

Thanks to my reviewers, as always. I truly appreciate it you guys, and I'm glad there are so many people that like this fiction.

Ah, well, I'll see you in two weeks then, minna-san. Enjoy the Holidays! .

Ja'ne!

Review Please.


	11. Chapter 11

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 11:: Fool

Yuka had promptly fallen asleep, leaning on her bag against the tree when she had returned that night and seen that none of the other three warriors had awoken. She had not even waited for Renkotsu to return all she had wanted at the moment was some space to breath and vent, so she might not be so violent later on.

When the man had returned, he had sent one look her way, making sure she was there and had taken up his place where he had been resting and gone to sleep. Though his usually hollow dreams were filled with Yuka's wide, frightened eyes for some reason, as if pleading with him, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. They pooled there, and soon erupted, flowing down her face in a steady stream. . .

Renkotsu awoke, banishing the dreams immediately. Not once yet had he seen this girl brought to tears, and he doubted such a thing could happen. She seemed to show every other emotion but true fear and sadness. He told himself at once that the dreams were purely fictional, this girl was far from ever crying in front of him in that way.

Almost as if reassuring himself that she was there, he looked up and studied the tree trunk carefully, moving his eyes downward until he reached her still-sleeping form. She was curled up snuggly, her head leaning against her yellow pack. Yuka's short black hair pooled around her head, her mouth slightly open as she breathed softly, her chest rising and falling slowly.

Renkotsu forced down the first thought that rose into his mind immediately: _'Wow, she looks cu-'_ A brief fit of anger hit him and the thought was stuffed away into a dark corner. "No," He mumbled to himself forcefully. "Not that."

"Not what?" Jakotsu questioned blearily, rubbing his eyes as he got up, stretching and yawning like a child.

Renkotsu didn't even look his way. "Nothing." He growled.

Jakotsu gave Renkotsu a sleep-weary look, blinking repeatedly to clear his gaze of the bleary images that came up in one's eyes within the first few minutes of waking up. "Fine, be that way." He grumbled and walked over to wake Bankotsu and Suikotsu up.

Renkotsu stood, wondering if he should wake the girl or not. Looking down on her, he realized how open and innocent she looked when she was sleeping, something she kept close guarded – it appeared – during the daylight hours. A smirk crossed his lips. Taking the few short strides toward her, he sat on his heels, resting his arms on either of his bent legs and proceeded in waking her. "Hey, get up."

She stirred at his words, the muscles around her eyes pulling so that her eyebrows came down, scrunching her eyelids. She made a brief noise of protest, and hugged her legs closer to her body. She mumbled something incoherent and promptly fell silent and went loose again.

Renkotsu frowned at her, why did she have to always be so difficult? "Hey," He said again, louder this time. "I said 'get up.'"

Yuka squirmed again, mumbling louder this time, but still not loud enough for him to hear. Her nose wrinkled as if she was annoyed and she stiffly turned her head away from him, burying it awkwardly between her shoulder and the tree.

He grumbled briefly before poking her in the shoulder that was not occupied by her head, his eye twitching in frustration slightly. "Get up already!"

Yuka suddenly struck out with the arm that was attached tot hat shoulder, knocking him to his butt. Glaring at him through heavy-lidded eyes, she growled in a venomous way. "And I said 'go away!!'" She cried, getting to her feet roughly, hoisting her bag up, and stomping away. She stumbled awkwardly, still half-asleep, looking quite comical as she marched away from the bewildered Renkotsu.

Jakotsu, who had watched with amusement, burst out laughing at his comrade. "Getting' pushed around by a girl again!" He taunted as Bankotsu and Suikotsu woke up tot he sound of Yuka's voice, no less.

Renkotsu got to his feet, growling angrily and gave Jakotsu a hard shove. "Shut up." He ordered as he passed the shorter man.

Jakotsu rubbed his shoulder and gave Renkotsu a dirty glare. "You just watch, I'm gonna kill you someday." He threatened in a pout-y tone.

Renkotsu waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

Yuka marched along after them again, thinking thoroughly of the events of the past week. If nothing else – she was definitely learning what Japan looked like around her house when the world was younger. Or were they still near where her house would be in the future? She had had never truly known _where_ she was, but she had somehow maintained the idea that they were still close enough to where her hometown would be. Yuka was sure that this was untrue, with all the walking and hiking she had done within these few days, but still the thought stuck in her mind. Partially because she still wanted something from her future to hang on to, to force herself to believe that she was not somewhere knew and strange, but a very un-modern version of where she lived everyday.

She was utterly bored with herself as she marched along. How could she not be though? Everything looked the same, felt the same, sounded the same. It was the same thing every day. Get up, march, rest, march, sleep, repeat as needed. People often told her that she did not truly appreciate anything, especially the outdoors, but she didn't care. If the outdoors were this boring, then she really would rather be inside!

She was fed up with not knowing where she was headed either! She felt as if she had been suckered into coming on another 'family outing,' in which she was never told the destination. This irked her more than anything and she felt the biting words leave her mouth before she could stop herself. "Alright, where the hell are we goin' anyway?"

Her sharp tongue broke the silence, and the nature sounds around them dissipated at the sound of her harsh tone. Even the crunch of stone, sticks, and dry leaves under their feet seemed to lessen in their noise making upon the arrival of her question.

Bankotsu looked back out of the corner of his eye at her. "It's none of your business where we're going."

Yuka felt anger and rage bottle up inside of her and she wanted to run right up and tackle him for being such an ass, but at a motion from Suikotsu, she calmed. From what she could tell from his waving, she should not anger him further for Bankotsu was already vexed by something.

Frowning, she nodded and dropped her eyes tot he ground again, content with waiting until later to ask her question again, though she did not like being shushed by any of them. Still, she held some form of respect for the kindly doctor Suikotsu. He seemed the most civil among the group and one of the few that could pacify her. If he were warning her against such a thing, then she would listen, though she did not have to _like_ it.

* * *

Nightfall found them at the top of a large hill. Well, Bankotsu and the other's said that it was a hill, but to Yuka, she still maintained that it was a mountain days after they had left it behind. She would not argue with their logic though, it was a pointless battle in which they would always find themselves the winners. For 'they were the males and therefore knew everything about the world.' She spat at such a philosophy.

Yuka sat crossed-legged, glaring at Renkotsu whenever their eyes met and occasionally exchanging a gaze with Suikotsu. In this way she found that she would be told where they were headed by the doctor himself later on if she truly wished to know. She didn't know how she had come to gain this knowledge; it was the secret messages of the eyes, a strange form of communication that some might have called telekinesis. Still she understood and waited patiently, a form of happiness rising in her at the fact that she was finally going to know where the heck she was headed with this rag-tag band of misfits.

When Jakotsu and the others were busy talking about something that appeared rather important to them, Suikotsu crossed over to Yuka, acting as if he were going to change her bandages on her arm from when the rat youkai had scratched her. It was already pretty much healed, the blood had clotted and she didn't think that there was any more need for the bandages, but Suikotsu persisted.

"Bankotsu would not like you to know," He began in a whisper, un-wrapping the old bandages. "But we are headed for the castle of the Daimyou that employed us to attack that village." He explained matter-of-factly.

"There we will be paid for our work and after that, Bankotsu will likely go hunting for Inuyasha, with you as the bait of course." Suikotsu commenced in re-wrapping her bandage, a hint of apology hidden in his tone. He looked up and gave her a weak smile. "That should do you for now, Yuka, good night."

At that he left, leaving Yuka full of questions. She almost called out for him to wait and answer the new questions that had come up in place of the answered one. But halted, frowning. Rubbing at the bandages thoughtfully, she curled up, head on her bag and thought it out.

_'Well, I knew I was bait for this 'Inuyasha' guy who's with Kagome-chan from the start, but. . .'_ She couldn't shake the betrayed feeling that welled up inside of her. _'What am I doing? I knew this was what was going on, so why do I feel so surprised?'_

New images, memories of when the village had been attacked came into her mind, and Yuka frowned. At that time, they had appeared a cold-hearted group of killers, whom she had been very glad to get away from unscathed. She had been horrified to run into them again, and even more so to learn that she was to be bait for someone she didn't even know and her best friend!

But when she had come to travel with them, she had found that they were quite the bumbling lot. Not lacking in the merciless nature, of course, but still relatively harmless in some way. Even the mighty, scowl-happy Renkotsu had not been so bad after all; he had tried to protect her those times, hadn't he?

Images flashed back to her of the time with the rat youkai, and more recently, with that pervert by the hot spring. A brief flush crept over her cheeks and she felt her face heat up and heart start to patter slightly. _'Why am I getting so worked up over that?'_ She asked herself, but could not shake the feeling for the life of her.

Frustrated, she forced herself to sleep, lulling away the memories of Renkotsu and the others, the feeling of being hurt and betrayed leaving her as well.

* * *

Hello again, everyone.

Well, with the new chapter up, I'd like to say that I'm not sure when I'llhave another up, though I hope to have one out soon. I'm going to be out of town from December 30 - January 2, so I won't be able to write for those four days. However, I will try to get as much finished beforehand as humanly possible.

Happy Holidays to everyone, I hope you enjoys your time off (considering that everyone is out of school) as much as I know I'm gonna like my holidays. (It's snowing so much here! We're supposed to get somewhere between five andsixteen inches of snow! Woah!) Anyway, enjoy yourselves everyone!

Thank you for the continued support, I truly appreciate it minna-san! See ya all around! Ja'ne!

Review Please.


	12. Chapter 12

No One Like You

By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 12:: Bad Karma

It was raining for the first time that Yuka had been in this era. All the other days had been fine, but now it was raining. Of all things, raining!! Why did it have to rain when she was already feeling down? Was nature consciously trying to spite her?

She sighed heavily, rain water rolled down her face and onto her neck. It smashed her hair flat to her head, making it look nasty and disgusting. Shaking her head, she dislodged an army of tiny water droplets to attack those around her. The men on either side of her barely noticed the added water droplets, but Jakotsu looked at her in annoyance.

Her bag was soaked through, and she knew her books were probably just as wet. Ruined, in other words. She would have to pay to replace them, out of her own pocket too, since her parents would never believe what had actually happened to them. Or maybe they actually missed her right now and would buy them without asking what had happened to the previous ones.

She rolled her eyes at the thought. Yeah, right, they probably didn't even know she was gone. They were so wrapped up in their business that they probably didn't even know how many kids they _had_.

Of course, the school probably missed her – well, to some extent. All they ever missed was a filled seat that now sat empty in the corner of the classroom. Nothing more, nothing less. If she wasn't there, they wrote her off as absent and thought nothing more of it. Once she accumulated enough days absent, they would call her parents and question them about the situation. Unfortunately, her parents would neither be home to answer, nor did they ever listen to any of the messages left on the answering machine. It wasn't that they were technology impaired or anything, they simply didn't care who called. If it was important, someone called their cell phone, and Yuka had made sure that the school never found out that her parents owned cell phones for that simple reason.

It was known throughout her grade level that she was infamous for arguing, not only with other students, but the staff of the school as well. She had a fiery temper when provoked and would not let herself cool down for anything. Some blamed it on her lack of parenting, but she knew it couldn't be that. It was simply the way she was she couldn't help that people were always wrong and she was always right. And it helped that the school's increasing number of calls to her home was never heard, for she often blew off all her punishments.

Sighing to herself, she ran her fingers through her bangs, slicking them back so that her forehead was revealed. Clear, pure rain water ran down her fingers and dripped to the muddy ground underneath her feet.

Yuka made a face as she looked around and realized that the four men around her were completely oblivious to the cold and wet that was chilling her through. Either that or they had a very strong resistance to it.

She entire body suddenly quaked with a shiver, her leg muscles jumped and quivered, making her think that they might give way under each step she took. Every one of her muscles pulled, trying not to make her slip in the nasty mud that squished underneath her weight. The backpack was what was causing most of her trouble. It was heavy with the wet books and papers inside, though it had already been heavy before.

Yuka was sure even her spare change of clothes was wetted through by now. She felt frustrated and depressed. The latter was what came to her on most rainy days. Once, while talking to the school psychiatrist, she had been told that that was common in a lot of people. That there was something in the sun that made people depressed when it was not shining. Yuka had listened, though she had never put much thought to it until now. In fact, she had never thought too deeply of things, never truly had, even now. Though it felt as if she definitely were examining things more thoroughly now that she had nothing else to occupy her time.

_'Not like it's a bad thing though,'_ she informed herself in a sullen inner tone.

Yuka started, her eyes widening as something in the back of her mind suddenly sent a distress signal through the rest of her body. She was being watched, and had been for some time. Recovering swiftly from her reverie, her eyes darted upward, narrowing before they had even settled on who was watching her so intently.

Renkotsu.

She growled in exasperation inwardly to herself. Why did it always have to be him that irked her when she was already down? She narrowed her eyes on him further, raising an eyebrow in question. "What?" She demanded in a tight grumble.

There wasn't so much bite to her words today, she felt lazy and lethargic. Even the thought of striking out at him in a heated argument today was like thinking about going golfing with her father and all his stupid club friends. It made her feel even more empty.

He gave her one of his looks that he knew infuriated her beyond all imagining, but today it had no effect.

After a moment, he dropped back and watched her for a moment, frowning as if he were angry. Yuka scowled at him darkly, water running down the side of her face. "What do you want?" She questioned testily.

None of the other's seemed to notice that they were conversing, or even that Renkotsu had moved back to walk next to her. Something Yuka was glad about. She didn't need anymore-negative attention crushing in on her today.

"You don't look so good." He informed her in a thoughtful tone.

Yuka tossed her head sharply, causing a shower of droplets to rain down on him. A few flew up and slapped him around the eyes. "I'm fine." She assured him. "I can take care of myself."

Still frowning, he rolled his eyes at Yuka. She could be so complicated sometimes. It made him furious sometimes. Why couldn't she ever just say 'yeah, I don't feel good' like a normal person instead of acting like there was nothing wrong and going on, living with the pain?

Shrugging indifferently, he dropped the subject, though he wasn't about to walk away from her right now. She was pale, and her eyes looked heavy and lidded, as if she truly were sick. She might be able to hide it in her actions and tone, but the outward signs could not be hidden. Whatever it was, the girl was sick. He assumed a simple homesickness of some sort, but he would speak to Suikotsu about it later. Worry had started to edge in on him, something he did not like.

She swayed uneasily once, but righted herself and sent him an offensive glare when he moved to try and help her. She was warning him to stay away. Obviously she wanted to prove something by being able to do all this on her own and would not allow anyone's help. Her eyes were pale in color.

* * *

The rain continued the entire day. It was a little before sunset, and the already cool day was becoming even chillier. Yuka shivered, her muscles quivering and aching. Her jaw had been working furiously before, her teeth chattering, but she had quickly forced her jaw to close. But the hard vibrations had to move somewhere, so now her bones were quaking rapidly. 

Yuka was frowning. Renkotsu had not strayed more than five feet from her side at any given time since earlier in the day. She was irritated by not only his closeness to her, but the fact that he seemed to have the idea that she was sick and needed _his_ help.

"Do you mind leaving me alone?" She asked him after a moment.

Renkotsu looked at her for a moment before responding. He obviously was in no mood either to pick a fight with her. "I'm not doing anything."

Yuka glared, seeing his point and turned her head away.

"Aw, look, the cute couple having another argument." He teased a wide smile at them.

Yuka's brow came down, shadowing her eyes in a way that would have made Godzilla crawl back into his hole. "Shut up." She ordered.

Jakotsu seemed even more pleased when he saw the look on her face. "When you act that way about it, it looks awfully suspicious."

Yuka frowned at him. "Yeah, well," She started loudly, but her voice immediately died off after that, her form drooping. "You can just. . .whatever. . ."

At this Jakotsu's grin had fallen and now he just seemed displeased. It was no fun torturing her if she was just going to give up that easily. What was wrong with her today? Now that he had calmed somewhat, he realized that the girl looked unusually pale.

Looking at Renkotsu, he raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Hey – what's wrong with the kid?"

"I always get like this when it rains." Yuka said glumly, thinking they were talking about her attitude, she surprisingly did not retaliate against being called a kid.

Suikotsu glanced back at Yuka and concern suddenly made his brow furrow. "You do not look well, Yuka-san."

Yuka looked at him in frustration, her dull eyes punctured by emotion for a brief moment. "Hey, I told you to stop calling me 'Yuka-san.'" She informed him, though she was lacking the forcefulness that usually would have accompanied her every word.

"It is not good to be staying out in the rain all day anyway." Suikotsu noted, obviously just then noticing the rain. He held up his hand, catching a good dozen of the little droplets in his palm before turning it over and letting them run out again.

Jakotsu had returned to his place walking next to Bankotsu, losing interest since it didn't appear that Suikotsu was worried about the girl dying.

Suikotsu looked to Bankotsu thoughtfully for a moment, then at the sun. "We should find somewhere to stop for the night, Bankotsu."

Their leader made no reply; Suikotsu did not press the matter, he knew Bankotsu was already searching for a nice dry place to rest. Somewhere warm, preferably.

As Suikotsu dropped out of line by Yuka and he, Renkotsu grabbed at her yellow bag, slinging it over his shoulder effortlessly.

Something seemed to have snapped inside of her, for she suddenly found the voice and energy needed to protest against his actions. For a moment she was back to her old self, reaching at the wet yellow strap held tightly in his hand and cursing brightly as soon as it had been ripped from her smaller ones. "Give it back!" She ordered with vigor, trying to snatch it back.

Renkotsu held it well out of her reach, smirking at her in pleasure. He was a good deal taller than her still, and it was funny watching her jump around like a child, trying to get at her belongings.

She gave up when she saw the futility of her actions and slumped back into her old mood, contenting herself with just glaring at him. Renkotsu smirked wider at her, it really was fun teasing the girl.

"Let me hold it." He said, turning his gaze away and acting as if he were suddenly disgruntled. Yuka looked at him suspiciously for a moment, the look soon changing to curiosity.

"Fine." She grumbled, looking away as well, inwardly glad that she no longer had to carry the weight of the books.

She still felt tired and worn out, but relief had spread through her at the news of resting. At the moment, she wished for nothing more than deep sleep to take her.

* * *

Sorry about the wait. Things got crazy. **le sigh**

Thanks for the reviews, everyone. I'm glad to see that so many people are interested in RenkYuka. Which, by the way, I have some news. If anyone is interested in more than just this version of the pairing, feel free to view Skittlez's C2 community dedicated to them. I think it's called _Shiny Objects...the....er...RenkotsuYuka Archive_. If not, it should be under my C2 communities in my profile. **Grin** Please do visit.

Thanks again, minna-san! I truly appreciate it! Ja'ne!

Review Please.


	13. Chapter 13

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 13: Fever 

_"I fall asleep with my friends around me  
Only place I know, I feel safe  
I'm gonna call this home"_ -_ 'The World You Love'_, **_Jimmy Eat World_**

* * *

A shouji door clicked slowly shut, waking her instantly. Such a soft sound should not have stirred her from her deep slumber, but it had, and now she lay awake, feeling hot and heavy-headed. Not with sleep though, but as if she were sick. 

Yuka took in a labored breath and found that her nose was all stuffed up, and that pressure was building behind her eyeballs. She closed them as a sturdy headache settled in. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. A cold, damp cloth was stretched across her forehead, trying to soothe the flaring fever some.

Opening her eyes a peek, she saw that she was in a small room, laying on a tatami-mat floor in a futon. Different than what she was used to back home, but better than sleeping in dirt, she decided. Against the shouji door she could see the four distinct outlines of her captors. Nearest was Suikotsu, who stood directly in front of the door, maybe with his hand still on the handle. To his right was Renkotsu's tall form, and tot he left stood Jakotsu and Bankotsu. Their weapons were missing, though she didn't doubt the long swords were somewhere nearby.

"So, what the matter with the kid? She dying?" Jakotsu asked in a bored tone. Yuka seethed at his lack of care for her health. She couldn't blame him though, they weren't exactly best friends or anything, but the guy could muster a little bit of sympathy couldn't he? What if she really did die?

"No, she's not dying." Suikotsu assured him with a small laugh that sounded like he was relieved. "But she has a cold, with a mild fever. Probably a mixture of homesickness and a regular cold. She should be fine in a few days if she gets enough rest."

"A few _days_?" Bankotsu asked, sighing in exasperation. "We haven't got a few days, Suikotsu! We should be on the move **now**!"

It was apparent from their tones that they didn't seem to care if their tones woke her or not. Yuka winced at Bankotsu's particularly loud tone, the force of which sent a pang through her skull. The pang soon solidified into a headache that throbbed irritatingly.

Suikotsu's head turned in his direction idly. "Think of it as a chance to let this rain pull out, Bankotsu. We wouldn't get very far in this thunderstorm, anyway."

As if to accentuate his words, a rumble of thunder was heard crashing overhead, moving into the ground and shaking it like a small earthquake. Lightening flashed as wind howled and rain slammed against the roof. Yuka didn't know how she had over looked it before, maybe it had just started?

"Yeah, besides, I wanted to rest, we've been moving almost non-stop for sometime." Jakotsu commented thoughtfully.

At this, the four adjourned and went their separate ways.

* * *

Suikotsu re-entered the room to find that Yuka's eyes were partially open and watching him carefully. "What happened?" She croaked at him in a raspy tone. She immediately winced at her own voice and coughed, trying to clear her throat. 

The doctor brought out a small cup of water from beside a wooden pail. Placing one hand on her back, he helped support her as she sat up to drink. When she had finished, Yuka gasped for breath, feeling dizzy. "Thank you, Suikotsu-san." She thanked him with a small smile. "But. . .what happened?"

She restated her question from before. Suikotsu eased her back down before answering. "You passed out on the way here. We were nearly to the borders of this little mountain village when you collapsed. Renkotsu-aniki carried you here." He added with a light smile before taking her cloth and cleaning it in the water.

Yuka felt something spark, and her face grew even hotter with a blush, thankfully the blush was undistinguishable on her already flushed cheeks. Why, of the four of them, did it have to be Renkotsu that had carried her when she passed out in the rain? She tried to imagine any of the other three carrying her, and rejected the idea. Ok, so she didn't like the prospect of being carried around, but why did it have to have been Renkotsu?

Suikotsu chuckled at the face she was making when he turned back and placed the cold wet cloth back on her forehead. "He volunteered, by the way."

Yuka sent him a look that made him chuckle further. "You're enjoying yourself, aren't you?" She asked, eyes narrowed.

Suikotsu only laughed in reply. "Yuka-san should learn how to take a joke." He advised, rubbing his hand in her hair like she was a child. Yuka closed one eye in irritation, making a noise of protestation in her throat.

He got to his feet with a sigh. "Well, I'm going to go rest for a bit, if you need anything, just call. Oh, and try to get some rest, you'll get better faster that way." He chastised.

Yuka made another noise, glaring at him as she bunched the cover of the futon up to her nose. "I'll be fine." She told him, her voice almost shorted out halfway through the sentence.

Rolling his eyes slightly, Suikotsu left, the shouji door clicking softly behind him.

* * *

Yuka rolled over onto her side wearily, still in a foul mood about the news of Renkotsu carrying her. 

She shut her eyes tight, trying to block out the image that came to mind every time this thought was re awakened within her. A growl of displeasure escaped her, and her muscles bunched up briefly before she calmed, letting herself fall back asleep.

* * *

Renkotsu wandered aimlessly through the little place they had lodged in for the next couple days. He had been sitting out by the garden, under the covered walk, but that had grown boring and only made him want to sleep. 

Bankotsu had gone to train somewhere nearby, he never seemed to mind the rain, and Jakotsu had amiably settled down for a rest somewhere. There were constantly people around in the inn, other people that were staying, of course, and the occasional worker that came to make sure everything that needed was provided.

The only person that he didn't know the whereabouts of was Suikotsu, though he guessed he was taking care of that blasted hostage.

Just like the girl to get sick when they were almost to their destination. The Daimyo wouldn't like them to keep him waiting.

Up ahead, he saw a shouji door slowly open and Suikotsu stepped out. Glancing toward Renkotsu, he softly closed the door back and made his way toward the taller man. He had a paper umbrella in one hand.

"Ah, Renkotsu-aniki, I have a favor to ask you." He said with a small smile as he got closer.

Renkotsu raised an eyebrow, he better not ask him to. . .

"Could you watch Yuka-san for me? I'm going to go out and buy some things that we may need. And I don't like leaving her unattended." Suikotsu asked, still smiling; though Renkotsu's lips had pulled into a small grimace.

He agreed to it though, with a small nod. Suikotsu's smile widened and he raised the umbrella so that it rested over his shoulder now. Renkotsu spotted a small list of items in his other hand. "Thank you, Renkotsu-aniki, it shouldn't be too long, I'll be back as soon as I can."

With that, he started down the hallway, humming slightly to himself. Renkotsu narrowed his eyes. What was he so happy about?

Sighing, Renkotsu rubbed his palm over his bald head in exasperation before walking to the shouji door and sliding it open.

She was asleep, thank God. He rolled his eyes at the peaceful look at her face. Sitting next to her sleeping form, he let out another small sigh, looking back at the shouji door regretfully.

Yuka stirred in her sleep at his resigned sigh, making a face as if in pain. A fine bead of sweat ran down her forehead, her cheeks were flushed bright red from the fever.

Renkotsu frowned as she made a sound and tried to roll over onto her side, but stopped mid-way and settled again. Bad dream perhaps?

Picking up the white cloth on her forehead, Renkotsu dipped it in the chill water and cleaned it off. He placed it back on her forehead after wiping away the sweat that had formed on her brow.

Sitting there carefully, he studied her, deep in thought. Idly, he moved one of her bangs aside, feeling her hot forehead underneath with the pads of his fingers. It wasn't a horribly high fever, but it was still not a small one either.

"You shouldn't sleep so soundly in times like these, little girl. Someone might take advantage of you." He mused, flicking at her bangs again as she slept.

Almost as if hearing him, she made a quirky kind of dreamy smile as she took in a deep breath, letting out a small kind of sigh. A strange reaction to his words though it would be safe to say she would have murdered him if she had heard one word of what he had said.

"You know, I heard somewhere that if someone has a fever, that someone else should lie next to them and attempt to cool their skin with their own. Though you both would have to be disrobed for that, I don't think you would mind too much." A voice suddenly put in perkily beside him.

Renkotsu was startled; he hadn't heard anybody come in. But he knew that voice all too well. Turning his head sharply, he found Jakotsu leaning over his shoulder with a goofy grin on his face. "What are you doing in here?" He growled at Jakotsu.

Jakotsu leaned back; sitting crossed legged like Renkotsu, though farther back from Yuka's futon. "What are _you_ doing in here?" He returned, emphasizing the 'you' as he looked pointedly at Renkotsu.

"I'm _babysitting_ for Suikotsu." Renkotsu snorted at him, trying to keep his tone low so they wouldn't wake Yuka up.

"Doesn't look like that to me." Jakotsu teased him. Renkotsu narrowed his eyes in reaction.

"Just what the hell are you doing in here? I thought you didn't like girls?" Renkotsu smirked at him slightly, though his eyes were still narrowed in annoyance.

Jakotsu huffed and got to his feet immediately, glaring at Renkotsu angrily. Turning on his heel, he stormed off, slamming the shouji door behind him tightly. "Bastard!" He called as he retreated down the hallway.

Renkotsu grimaced. The idiot, he was going to wake. . .

"Mm? Shut up. . ."

Too late.

Renkotsu gave a withdrawn sigh as Yuka looked at him and her eyes widened. "You!" She growled, immediately sitting up. The blood rushed from her head, and she reeled momentarily. She caught herself before she fell back on her pillow and sent him a nasty glare.

"What are you doing in here?" She hissed venomously, defensively sitting as far back from him as possible. Renkotsu visibly rolled his eyes at her.

"Calm down, Suikotsu told me to stay here and make sure you didn't suffer too much." He told her sarcastically.

Yuka narrowed her eyes. She trusted him about as far as she could throw him. A long silence followed, both of them just staring at each other, eyes narrowed.

As they sat, the sound of someone's footsteps was heard coming their way. The soft padded sound got louder and louder, barely audible against the soothing patter of rain overhead. Soon the shouji door was slowly opened, and Suikotsu stepped in with a small smile. Both pairs of narrowed eyes immediately darted to him, making the smile falter. Looking from one to the other, he stood rigidly in the doorway, one foot instead, the other outside still, waiting to follow it's partner inside.

"Uhm. . .did I. . .interrupt something. . . ?"

* * *

A little RenkYuka to get it going, I hope to start speeding everything up soon too.

Thanks for the reviews and continued support. I truly appreciate everyone's help.

Sorry, but I gotta keep this short guys, mass-updating tonight. **Oro!**

Review Please.


	14. Chapter 14

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 14: Fire! Yuka's Daring Plan to Escape 

Suikotsu had gone out again, this time not daring to leave anyone to watch Yuka. Her condition had improved since the day before, but he did not dare risk her wrath again. She had been very disgruntled when she had found Renkotsu watching over her, and he did not want them having a screaming contest in the little hotel. The owners were already displeased with the fact that they were housing obviously dangerous warriors and a single girl. Such a thing might bring down their reputation as good travelers lodging if the group were to act up.

He had spoken to his comrades, but he wasn't sure if they would take his advice to keep a low profile as they stayed in the town.

When he had gone though, Yuka's eyes immediately popped open. She waited until his footsteps had disappeared down the hall before she threw the covers back, tearing the little cloth from her head and hopping up onto her feet in a single fluid motion. She grinned to herself as she saw that she was not being watched this time.

Since she had been taken 'hostage' something in the back of her mind had been nagging her to escape at some time when they weren't watching her. She had dismissed the thought, knowing that she was safe to some extent in their company, and realizing that she might find a way to get back home as well. In a way, she was mooching off of them under the pretext that she was just a 'hostage.'

But lately she had started to second-guess herself and now planned on ditching them. It had been nice traveling with them, but it was getting a little too serious now. Going to see the Daimyo and all that, who knew how long afterward it would take them to find Kagome and Inuyasha! She would be better off just backtracking to the village and waiting for her friend there, even if she wouldn't have the guaranteed protection of the four warriors.

Going to her backpack, she wondered if she should change clothes. Looking over the kimono that she had at some time been changed into (she hoped not by any of the men), she decided that she would keep that on. It would be nice to have three changes of clothes instead of two. Her shoes were mud-covered and disgusting looking, as were her socks. Grimacing, she stuffed the socks into a side pocket and zipped it back up swiftly, she would just have to do without.

Slipping her feet hurriedly into her shoes, she shouldered her pack and looked up to make sure there was no one else around to see her.

Yuka walked as softly as she could to the shouji doors before opening them up and sticking her head out to peer around. There was no one in the empty hallway, though she could hear a murmur of indistinct and unrecognizable voices from somewhere.

She grinned conspiratorially before slipping out. She shut the shouji door back, so as not to arouse any suspicion and escaped down the hallway, running as swiftly as she could while still remaining silent.

She made it out into an open area, and looked about. The travelers lodge, like any other stereotypical one in those times, faced out into a forest on three sides, the fourth looking out on the cleared road that led to the village not but a mile or so away. Yuka now stood in the soft grass that led to the forest, looking around again to make sure she wasn't being watched. It was almost too quiet; she was starting to get an eerie feeling.

Shrugging off the feeling, she clopped off into the forest at a hurried pace, thinking she had left all of her troubles behind her, and quite proud of herself. A little too early, she congratulated herself on a successful mission.

* * *

Renkotsu was meditating nearby, quite pensive with the run-in with Yuka and Jakotsu the day before. It was irritating how often the man showed up, and always at the wrong time too! 

One eyebrow twitched in his anger, but he forced himself to calm and focus his mind. He was interrupted further when the sound of someone running by was heard.

His eyes opened, glaring around in search of the intruder. He was angry and ready to take it out on whoever was daring to interrupt him at the present moment.

Confused, he blinked as Yuka ran by, not even noticing him as she dashed by in a frenzy. She looked quite confident, a smug sort of grin on her face as she trotted off, feet bouncing off the roots and dirt easily.

The warrior let out an exasperated sigh, what was that girl up to now. . .?

* * *

Yuka slowed when she thought she was a descent distance away, coming down to a normal walk. The run had winded her a little, so it took a few seconds to catch her breath. 

She was happy she had gotten away, but she felt a nostalgic sort of sadness overcome her as well. Looking back over her shoulder, she tried to see the lodge, but she had left it far behind now and could no longer even catch a glimpse of one of it's corners. They had been nice, those four guys, it's not like she hated them or anything, but she was itching to get home to at least a proper bath, and she didn't know how long it would take her if she stayed with them in search of Kagome.

Sighing to herself, she turned back away, trying to brighten her mood again with another self-congratulatory smile. She hopped along, her bag banging against her back with every one of her jostled steps, but she overlooked it as she continued on into the forest.

The smell of smoke wafted toward her, and though Yuka kept walking, her eyebrows had lifted in confusion, and her features were puzzled and quizzical over this.

When her vision was blurred, and her eyes burned with the smoke suddenly, she became startled and frightened, unsure of what to do. A fire? In the forest, but where? She thought she could hear the bursts of flame all around her, and when she turned she couldn't find an opening anywhere.

The smoke was thick now, and every time she would turn, she would find nothing but a cloud of smoke and the bright orange coloring of flames all around, blocking her path. Terror gripped her, she had always been told what to do during a fire when she was a child, but she had never thought that she would actually have to use it.

In her panic, she blatantly overlooked the fact that the smoke held a hint of some kind of herb as she bent at the waist, running as swiftly as she could in the position as she shielded her eyes with one arm against the sting of the smoke.

She coughed roughly, pulling more and more of the vile plumes inside of her with every breath. Her legs worked furiously as she charged toward the opening, but they felt as if they were going to be paralyzed. Her mind whirled sickly and her vision dimmed. She remembered hearing that some people inhaled too much smoke while trying to escape a fire and passed out, only to be consumed by the flames, never to wake again.

A new terror rose in her at the memory of that, and she held her breath right in the middle of a large cough as she hurtled through the wall of flames. Her legs gave out when they met the cold dirt on the other side, and she tumbled, rolling away from the flames and smoke, hacking and coughing, gasping for clean air.

Breathing heavily, she lay in a huddled ball, listening to the sounds of the flames far off, her mind throbbing and body wracked with a shiver that always came after a sudden flight of fear.

Soon her breathing eased, and she felt up to the task of opening her eyes at last. Making a noise in the back of her throat, she rolled onto her back, shoving the backpack away from her as she struggled to see.

At first everything was bleary, but soon it cleared and she saw a familiar face peering down at her in a disgruntled manner. Her eyes narrowed and Yuka sat up swiftly, glaring into the angry eyes of Renkotsu.

"What are you doing, idiot?" He demanded of her sharply, looking quite peeved.

"It's none of your damn business!" She yelled back angrily, getting on her feet, though she still felt as if she were slightly paralyzed, for she had to use a lot of effort to stay erect. She grasped at her bag and slung it to her shoulder in a huff.

"Trying to run away?" Renkotsu stated in a disgusted tone.

Yuka replied with a pouting glare, watching him from underneath furrowed brows. "So maybe I am." She grumbled at length.

He sighed, rolling his eyes at her. Running away like that was for children. She could have at least tried to do it right if she wanted to escape.

"Well, come on, before Suikotsu and the others find out about your little escapade." Renkotsu turned away, starting to head back when he saw that she had not budged an inch.

Renkotsu turned back toward Yuka, who was still watching him in that pouting way, stubbornly deciding she wasn't going to move from her spot at all if she could help it.

He just stared at her, not about to say anything, and after a while, she felt words coming from her lips, though she had not wanted to talk to him at all. "There's a fire over there, can't go that way."

He smirked at her, making her angrier. What was so funny? That fire might have killed her the stupid jerk!

"A fire was it?" He mused in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes a fire, you ass!" She grated out at him, stomping over and, taking a hold of his arm roughly, she pulled him up the small incline of the hill she had rolled down, determined to show him. "It was right up here."

Renkotsu allowed her to drag him along, though he was quite amused by the fact that she believed that there had been a real fire.

When they reached the top, Yuka stopped, surprised to see that nothing had been burned. Instead, there was just a few little puffs of smoke trailing from what looked to be little holes dug in the ground. What was this, a trick?

She turned on Renkotsu; sure that he had something to do with this.

It was all he could to stop from laughing. Going over to one of the many holes he himself had made, he poured in a fluid from the gourd at his side. Immediately the stuff flared up, and Renkotsu stuck in twigs and dead leaves. When a large flame had been built, he produced some little dried herbal leaves and tossed them in. A smoke was created that smelled horrendous and continued to puff up with every leaf that was added to it. To top it off, Renkotsu brought out a little paper fan and unfolded it, fanning the flames as he smirked at Yuka who was looking on in a horrified manner.

She had been duped, tricked, played like a chump by – of all people – Renkotsu. Her mouth hung open and her eyes were large, adding to his amusement. When she finally came back to herself she went rigid and gave him a glare that would have made the trees bend away from her in fright if they could see.

Satisfied, Renkotsu opened another gourd and splashed water inside. More smoke was produced, but this was white and made the contents in the little hole hiss angrily. To make sure that the fire was out, Renkotsu kicked in some dirt before looking back up at Yuka smugly.

"You!" Yuka hissed at him angrily, pointing at him, hand trembling with her outrage. "You tried to kill me didn't you!"

"Not kill, just slow you down. Though killing you would have been a. . .most unfortunate outcome." He turned away, heading back toward the lodge.

Yuka chased after him, determined to chew him out for even joking about killing her. He had done all of that on purpose to make sure she wouldn't run away and had totally disregarded her safety! What would be the point of retrieving her if she had died! "Why you! You're such an asshole! I can't believe you!" She screeched angrily; Renkotsu ignored her.

* * *

When they arrived back at the lodge, Yuka froze, looking up at the wooden structure with wide eyes for a moment before it dawned on her that she had been duped again. Taken for a fool, following him all the way back. He had taunted her the entire way, ensuring that she would return just to retaliate against his every word. She glared at the tall man that was watching her with that infuriating smirk again. 

She opened her mouth to speak, her face turning red with anger. But no noise came out and finally she let out a frustrated sigh, calming to some extent and looked away, angry. "Fine." She grumbled under her breath, seeing that she had been defeated this time.

* * *

Hello again everyone, thanks for the reviews and support. I'll be moving on with the story after this, I just thought this was funny when it popped into my head and made room for it in place of the chapter that was supposed to move the plot along a bit more. I hope no one minds too much. Heh.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews everyone and I hope to get moving again on updating my other things soon. Thanks for your patience as well with my random updates.

I'll see you all soon. Ja'ne!

Review Please.


	15. Chapter 15

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 15: Back on the Road 

Seeing as Yuka was able to travel again, the group left the lodge and the small village behind without a word the next day.

It was relatively sunny, with a few clouds passing over the sun every now and then. Yuka had dreaded the coming of this trip, thinking that she would be teased the entire way by Jakotsu and Renkotsu about her unsuccessful attempt to rid herself of them.

Strangely though, Jakotsu said nothing to her, and she didn't think it was like him to not say anything at all when there was so much to exploit from such a thing. She had thought that he would taunt her non-stop, she was sure that Renkotsu would have told at least Bankotsu about her escapade. But now she was left wondering if he had.

She watched him, eyes narrowed, making a little noise in the back of her throat every now and then as she tried to get inside of his head. Not literally of course, but she was trying to her best effort to understand how that deceitful, deranged mind of his worked.

Why wouldn't he have told? He seemed to get so much pleasure out of seeing her upset, and yet he had told no one. She wondered fleetingly that he might be protecting her in some way, but she blew that idea out of the water completely. Pah, yeah right, like _he_ would ever protect _her_. She wouldn't want him to anyway, it would mean owing him a debt, and she refused to be indebted to such a buffoon.

As much as she thought though, she just could not get her mind wrapped around his. She couldn't understand why he wouldn't report her; it was his job as a 'general' under the Leader Bankotsu, right? She sighed, giving up after a few hours of awkward puzzling.

Turning her mind to other things, she wondered on their destination again. They said that it was only a little further away until they reached the village that the Daimyo's castle resided over, maybe they would even reach it by tonight.

She felt a little apprehensive at this thought. What would she do when they came to the Daimyo? What was regular protocol in the courts during these days? Yuka made a face as she envisioned herself wearing a long, heavy kimono that burdened her and restricted movement so that one moved sluggishly, if at all. She hoped she would have to wear something like that. . .

Yuka brightened as another thought crossed her mind. Maybe she wouldn't have to go at all. Maybe instead she would be allowed to stay behind. But she would have to have a 'bodyguard' probably. She grimaced at the thought. Of the four, she knew she wanted Suikotsu to stay since he was at least decent, but Renkotsu would probably be the one that would stay behind to watch her and make sure she didn't run away.

He didn't seem one to enjoy such things and would stay behind if he learned that she was to be left unattended. She groaned inwardly at the thought.

* * *

Yuka checked the sun periodically to see what time it was. She had to estimate, but she found that she was becoming more and more aware of the time by the sun's position. It was a simple trait back in those days, everyone knew how to tell time by the sun, but she was rather proud of this fact having grown up in a time when everyone just looked at their wrist watch to tell time. It was still difficult to do, but she was happy that she could accomplish such a hard task on her own.

If her calculations were correct, then it was about three o'clock in the afternoon when they had finally pulled out of the mountainous forest. Now they were walking down a long stretch of what appeared to be planes and fields. The grass was high and bugs often zoomed within inches of their faces. Yuka, unused to such things, let out a yelp of surprise several times when a fly buzzed right into her ear.

A glare from Renkotsu and Jakotsu and curious looks from Bankotsu and Suikotsu soon made her keep such outbursts to herself.

It wasn't that she hated the bugs, they just got in her way and frustrated her. She kept swatting at them, only to be further angered when Renkotsu kept scowling at her. She hated that condescending look he was giving her! She couldn't help that the annoying little things kept buzzing about her!

"If you've got a problem come out and say it already." She finally grumped at him.

Renkotsu looked at her out of the corner of his eye and snorted before turning his eyes back to the road. "What are you talking about?"

"You keep giving me this weird look every time I swat at a bug! What's your problem?" Yuka demanded, irritated that he was acting as if he knew nothing.

He rolled his eyes and gave no answer. Yuka aggravated by his silence, felt as if she might burst at the seams with her anger. What was his problem? He was so silent today; he hadn't even commented once on how un-girl-ish she was or how strange she was. Was he nervous about the upcoming visit to the Daimyo as well?

Yuka snorted to herself and turned her head away sullenly. Yeah right, fat chance of that happening. She was sure that he never got nervous about anything, let alone something like that. It seemed like such a frivolous thing, why would _he_ be worried? He lived in this time after all; he probably knew what was expected of one of his rank when in front of a Daimyo. Though, now that she looked back, he probably wouldn't care either way.

She stopped her train of thought there; she was just going round in circles about something that frankly did not matter. Sighing, she glumly looked back up at the suns positioning and then around at the landscape.

The little valley, surrounded on all sides by the mountains, seemed to spread out for infinity. Yuka sighed to herself as the sun-drenched fields danced under the watchful gaze of the aged mountains. How could the rest of the world be so happy when she was feeling so glum?

* * *

It was around sundown when they finally saw the town gates in the distance. Bankotsu ordered they pick up the pace when it appeared; the gates would close at dark and shut them out for the night if they didn't hurry.

It was rumored that youkai ran rampant around the forest and the mountains that surrounded the city and the Daimyo's castle that was set higher up amongst the trees in the mountainside. It was an ancient dwelling, said to have been built by the god-like ancestor of the current Daimyo. This only added on to the Daimyo's already inflated ego however, and as if in response his thick body ballooned out as well. He was a glutton, not only for exotic foods, but also for power, money, booze, high living and everything that came with it. His people suffered for his selfish gains, but they were never truly his concern in the first place.

He was a coward too; an overly zealous coward that had a fine sword at his belt that would never beused. He had never learned how to use a sword, he had neglected this and instead had spent his time coercing his elders into giving him more and more power until he overthrew his elderly and just father and replaced him as the figurehead. He enjoyed giving other's pain, and kept himself heavily guarded. In all he was a mindless, boastful, deceitful man that always was looking for a new scheme, a new way to gain more and more of the power he so lusted for.

Now, it was late when the Shichinintai reached the city and found comfortable lodgings for the night. It was no time to go and see the Daimyo now; he wouldn't receive them until morning anyway, so it was no use hiking up all the way up now.

Yuka settled down after a nice long bath in the hot spring built into the back of the lodging with a content sigh. Her feet ached as did her legs, but not quite as much as they used to. She was happy with the way she had toned, but the daylong treks were very boring and lugging around the pack with her ruined textbooks only added to the burden.

Leaning back against the wooden walls, Yuka glanced around, taking in the simple room. It greatly resembled the last one she had lodged in, so she soon lost interest and closed her eyes, sighing again as she closed her heavy lids.

Her breathing evened out to some point and soon she was quite at peace, consumed in the quiet and easy ebb and flow of time that now settled in the empty room. Then entered the four noisy men, Jakotsu and Renkotsu arguing, with Bankotsu shouting for them to 'shut up' and Suikotsu acting as group pacifier.

Yuka groaned irritably and got to her feet. She had washed some of her other clothes during the few hours they had been there, and now was walking around in a borrowed kimono from the inn. "I'm going out." She said, giving Suikotsu a warning look when he was about to protest.

He only nodded, overcome by the continuing rampage of the two elder men and sent a brief word or two her way. "That's fine, be safe Yuka-san."

* * *

Once away from the now rowdy atmosphere of the inn, Yuka relaxed, placing her hands behind her head in a carefree fashion. Despite the fact that it was late and everyone was going indoors and lighting the lights now, she was quite at ease. "Ugh, what a bunch of idiots." She groaned to herself as she walked along, getting used to the feel of the traditional wooden shoes that she was wearing.

From a doorway she heard a sudden whisper that caught her attention and went immediately still to catch the rest of it. "Yes, the Shichinintai. . .some strangely clad female is with them, but she looks so much like a boy with that short hair that I thought she was another one of them at first. . ."

There were two of them, low, hushed, obviously afraid of being overheard. It was street gossip, but still it irked her. She looked like a boy! How rude! A lot of girls her age had short hair back in the. . . ! She gave up as anger swelled within her. Girls never cut their hair back in feudal Japan; of course they had thought she was a man.

"You think she's a youkai? She's dressed awful strange and looks just as weird. . .Only the Shichinintai could tame a wild youkai wench like that and get it to follow them. . .they're assassins I hear, yes, went to one of the villages that was actin' up, aye, the Daimyo sent them to do it. . ."

The hushed tones continued fading away as whoever was talking walked off further into the shadows. She was still interested, there was something about the low tones that told her something did not bode well for she and her companions here. How had she changed from a miko to a youkai so suddenly? She sighed as she tried to imagine herself first in miko's garments and then changing rapidly to a snarling creature like the one she had encountered earlier on at what she now referred to as the 'Hot Spring Incident'.

Yuka shook her head at the thought, clearing it away as she moved on down the street, exploring the rest of the new village that they had come to be in. It was probably a better idea to look around in the daylight, but she was much too interested to care. Besides, she was somewhat hoping to find out more about what the villagers thought of the Shichinintai and herself.

They were called the 'Seven Man Army' right? So what happened to the other three guys? She only knew four, and none of them had mentioned three others. Had they died? No, that wouldn't be right, would it? Maybe they were here in the village and they were all supposed to meet up soon. She groaned as she imagined three more fighting men just like the four she knew. It wouldn't be very bad if they were like Suikotsu, but something told her there was a slim chance of that happening. They would most likely going to be as annoying and mean as Renkotsu and Jakotsu. Just perfect. And she was supposed to travel as a 'hostage' with these seven nuts?

Yuka rolled her eyes as she leaned against a post that upheld the roof to a little tavern. "Just great." She grumbled to herself as she put her hands back behind her head and shut her tired eyes.

"What are you doing out here?"

Renkotsu was watching her warily. Yuka started at the sound of a voice, and then grimaced as she noticed whom it was. Perfect, he had to come and make sure her night that had started so nicely would be ruined.

"None of your business." She shot back, glaring at him.

"Hold your tongue, wench." He ordered, leaning against the opposite post casually.

"Don't you condescend to me you crazy old man!" She huffed. She always seemed angry when she was near him, yet he never seemed quite as vexed.

He wrinkled his nose at her loud tongue, his brow knitting together in irritation. "Try not to be so loud." He advised.

Yuka fumed, fists clenched at her side, feeling as if she might burst with the anger that bubbled inside of her dangerously. Biting her lower lip in her rage she shoved her shoulders back against the post hard, rattling the unstable roof a little. Renkotsu sent her a dirty look, but she paid it no heed, eyes fixed on the ground, glaring at it angrily, arms crossed.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" She managed to get out through clenched teeth.

"Keeping an eye on you." He informed her bluntly, not looking her way to see her reaction. That was good since her eye twitched in annoyance. She wasn't gonna run away anymore and like she needed a babysitter anyway!

"I can fend for myself, and I'm not gonna run away so you can leave me alone." She replied in a harsh, rough tone.

He looked at her sternly. "It's far more dangerous in these streets than you realize, girl."

"And I'm sure your _'protection'_ is going to ensure my eternal safety." Yuka stomped off as she threw the snide comment over her shoulder at him.

Renkotsu followed after her, glaring at her back and growling something to himself about 'stupid females.'

* * *

Sorry to say, but only one update this week, minna-san. I was behind on my original fiction over at FictionPress and I decided to work on that rather than some of myother projects here. I'll try tohave some stuff finished beforeI leave for my trip next Thursday though.

Alright, I'd like to thank, as always, my reviewers and your patience with me. I'll be sure to pep up the next few chapters and finally get this moving into action and the fighting scenes.

I'll see you all soon! Thanks again and Happy Easter!

Reivew Please.


	16. Chapter 16

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 16: Visit to the Palace 

"Get up, wench! . . .Hey, I said 'get up!'" Renkotsu's voice was breaking in on her sleep again. Did he constantly have to wake her so rudely?

Growling in protest, Yuka pulled the blanket of her futon over her head; her feet peeked out instead now. Pulling them in when a breath of cool morning air touched them, she now was just an indistinguishable mass underneath the blanket.

Renkotsu frowned, frustrated. Grasping the blanket, he roughly yanked it off of her, glaring. "Get moving, idiot."

Yuka shivered as the cold air suddenly rushed in and over her, robbing her of her body heat that had formed between her and the blanket's surface. Scrunching her eyes shut, she made another protesting noise in her throat, curling tighter into a ball.

Renkotsu nudged her irritably with his foot. "Up, woman!"

She simply rolled away, angry that she didn't have a western pillow she could bury her head under and drown out the noise of his irritating voice. The traditional rectangular futon pillow would hardly suffice.

Angry now, Renkotsu picked her up under her arms. Yuka went loose in reaction though, forcing all her weight to her legs and feet and dragging herself down to the floor again. She hoped to at least frustrate him by making him struggle to lift her. It would be worth it even if he started accusing her of being fat, if she were allotted more time to sleep she was sure she could endure his empty words.

She had not counted on his in-human strength though. The only thing she had done was cause a bit of frustration for the powerful Shichinintai member. A mere shift of his weight and he hoisted her up over his shoulder like she were nothing at all.

At first she was shocked, unable to comprehend what had happened. She had envisioned a long struggle from the man to try and get her two-feet off the ground, but one glance down at the floor and she could see that she was possible six or more feet off the ground instead. She had forgotten how tall he was.

When it finally struck her what was going on, she felt outraged. How dare he! She was not something he could lug around like this! The stupid, rude, barbaric. . .

Yuka cried out in ferocious protest to how she was being treated. A rude awakening was one thing, but being slung over his shoulder like a bag of grain was another thing entirely!

True, she had grown rather accustomed to being woken up in such a manner, but this was simply unforgivable. Did he think this was funny?

"How dare you! Put me down right now you ass!" She demanded loudly, pounding his shoulders with her fists. With difficulty she tried to remember what she had learned in school about the human pressure points. If she could just remember. . .

She slammed her fist down and felt his shoulder muscles bunch up and then loosen in sharp pain. His eye twitched and his grip on her tightened. "Watch it, wench." He growled in a warning tone; his muscles in his arm were sore now, the idiot!

Other than that he ignored her cries and her pounding. It didn't hurt; it just was really annoying. She was wearing thin on his nerves, kicking and bucking like a wild horse, making it hard to hold on to her constantly wiggling form. If she didn't watch it, he was gonna drop her. Maybe he'd pretend he was going to and give her a good scare. The thought brought a smirk to his face, yes, that would be fun up until she started screeching again. Damn the girl had such a tongue on her! Where had the girl been raised to speak the rash tongue of men? Surely nowhere he had ever been.

Making a show of his handiwork, he walked down the halls of the inn and all the way outside with her still slung over his shoulder, screeching like an owl.

The rest of the group was waiting outside impatiently for them. Bankotsu and Jakotsu seemed to be discussing something with bright smiles before the sounds of Yuka's screams cut in.

"Ready." Renkotsu stated shortly, ignoring the look that flashed in Jakotsu's eyes and passed to Bankotsu. Suikotsu rolled his eyes, though there was a look of concern in Yuka's direction as she gave another harsh kick to Renkotsu's chest. A loud 'wham' was heard as it struck his ribcage. The tall warrior didn't even blink.

The villager's watched with shocked interest as the strange group headed out toward the forest path that led up to the palace. The one female among them was slung over the shoulder of the tallest and screaming like her lungs were being ripped out.

"I heard talk that that one female among the Shichinintai is a youkai."

". . .Ah, aye, she screams like one at least. Must be one with the way she carries on."

"Nice catch, Renkotsu-aniki." Jakotsu complemented with a sly grin as they passed through the village.

"Shut up." Renkotsu grunted back.

* * *

Yuka quieted after a time, but still remained indifferent to her outrageous treatment. Plus she hated the fact that she was wearing an eternal blush on her cheeks. Couldn't Renkotsu put his hand a little closer to her knees or something? Where it was placed right now was a bit unnerving. She wasn't about the request the removal of the hand though, that would only catch Jakotsu and Bankotsu's attention.

Her arms were crossed in a pout-y fashion, fingers tapping lightly against them. "You know, you can let me down." She grumbled to the bald warrior that carried her.

It was by no means a comfortable ride, he was jostling her with every stride and his shoulder was digging into her stomach?

"I think not." He replied in a flat tone.

"Why the hell not!" Yuka demanded sharply, twisting to try and get a better view of his face. This only made his grip tighter to keep her from falling and she felt her face growing redder. Damn it all!

"He likes to carry you." Jakotsu teased, cutting in when he saw his chance. This was just too good an opportunity to pass up. The girl was red as a beet and Renkotsu's hand was idly placed in a spot that Jakotsu knew was supposed to be off-limits to a monk; even if he was a former monk it was still hilarious.

Renkotsu immediately responded by whacking him over the head with his free arm, looking at him with a mixture of scorn and disgust. "I thought I told you to shut up?"

Jakotsu's arms came up to cover his head, whimpering in false pain. "Ow! Bankotsu-no-oo-aniki, Renkotsu-aniki hit me again!"

"You sound like a child." Yuka snorted.

"Agreed." Renkotsu said.

"Ah! I knew it! There's something between you two, isn't there!" Jakotsu accused as if the two agreeing finally meant something.

"What! Yeah right, you have no idea what you're talking about!" Yuka exploded, though her face was getting redder and she became more and more aware of the hand on her rear.

"Please, I could do much better than this noisy little mouse." Renkotsu rolled his eyes and sneered in disgust.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean you pyromaniac freak!"

"Who're you calling a 'freak' you deranged, useless wench!"

Suikotsu looked torn between intervening and letting the argument run its course. He couldn't tell which was the better choice, he doubted intervening at this point would be very wise.

Bankotsu's eyes twitched as he listened to the three arguing. He was fine with their bickering usually, but there was something that was really bugging him. He had heard rumors in the tavern and the inn last night and he had not liked them. If the Daimyo was. . .

"Don't you touch me, disgusting filth!" Jakotsu gave a startled cry as Yuka reached out to try and smack him.

The Leader finally got sick of their bickering and looked over his shoulder with a glare.

They looked about to get far more violent when Bankotsu turned on them, roaring his displeasure. Jakotsu had his hand on the hilt of Jakotsutou, Yuka had her fists raised as if those were suitable weaponry, and Renkotsu was fingering the gourd at his side while glaring at Jakotsu.

"All of you be quiet! We're almost at the Daimyo's castle!"

With that he turned back away, shifting Banryuu on his shoulder stiffly.

Jakotsu sniffed back false tears. "Now look what you did, Renkotsu-aniki: Bankotsu-no-oo-aniki is angry with me. . ."

* * *

The guards at the gate looked half-asleep when they finally arrived.

Yuka was still slung over Renkotsu's shoulder and had completely given up trying to get down. She had no shoes on anyway and the path was covered with mud and rocks. Suikotsu was carrying her weathered schoolbag.

Bankotsu was giving the newly awoken guards a smug smirk as they looked over the strange guests.

"Tell the Daimyo that the Shichinintai have returned."

They were admitted immediately, no ceremonies or questions involved. The two half-sleeping guards played their bumbling parts well, having gaped at the sight of the seasoned fighter's. Yuka was pretty sure that their eyes were on the huge sword that was Banryuu, Bankotsu's 'baby.'

At least she hoped that that's what they were looking at and not at her rear which she was sure there was a good shot of with how Renkotsu was holding her.

Once inside she did not relax though. The place was much too extravagant for her liking, and she could tell from his reaction that Renkotsu did not like it either.

A young pageboy showed them in, leading them through the main hallway to where the Daimyo awaited them.

Renkotsu finally let Yuka to her feet; he had a disgusted look on his face as they entered the 'throne room.' She didn't stray from his side, barely noticing that she had been let down to walk on her own again at all. She supposed he liked the man about as much as Yuka liked school.

And rightly so. Yuka could tell the Daimyo was no intelligible man the second she saw him.

It was a disgusting sight that greeted them when the pageboy bowed away, the doors opening behind him.

The room stank of alcohol and body odor. The entire place was so richly decorated that it was appalling to look upon. The Daimyo, who looked 30 or so (it was hard to tell due to his size), sat on a pile of extravagant pillows at the head of a low finely-crafted wooden table. Several clay jugs of sake sat near steaming trays of meat. Several had been tipped over and emptied of their contents on the floor.

Yuka resisted the urge to cover her mouth and nose with her hands; the smell was originating from the man and got worse the closer they came to him.

He didn't appear to have noticed their entrance, too involved in feasting on the delicate foods set before him. Yuka brought forth the image of a hippo as she watched him eat. It was disgusting. _'Barbarian,'_ she admonished as she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

While taking a swig from one of the sake jugs, he seemed to finally take notice of his guests. Letting out a grunt and a burp, he sat back with some difficulty due to his girth, slobbering. "So, you're back." He stated simply.

"Hai," Bankotsu nodded stiffly. He hated this man more than anything else; he wondered now why he had let the fool hire them. Oh well, a job was a job and he had had far worse employers before. If what he had heard in the village was true. . .

"That took longer than I thought. I trust that that village was properly taken care of?" He was casual, maybe a little too casual.

"Hai," Bankotsu repeated, he looked irritated now. He couldn't help it, the more he thought about that ugly rumor. . .and he hadn't seen any sign of them since he had entered the city. He had gone out specifically last night to search for them and found nothing. He was raise the city if that rumor were actually the truth. . .

"I'll pay you later." He said gruffly, reaching for the sake bottle to take another swig. "For now, rest. I'm sure you must be very tired." There was a hint of sarcasm to his tone; everyone caught it instantly.

"Where are the rest of my men?" Bankotsu tried to keep his voice reasonable, even civil. Just a passing, innocent question, but he felt the bite to his words all the same. Though it was as discreet as the Daimyo's sarcasm.

"Who?" The Daimyo raised one eyebrow and caused a mountain of pudgy folds to shift on the slope that was his face. He acted as if he didn't know what was being asked of him.

"Mukotsu, Ginkotsu, Kyoukotsu." Bankotsu ran off the names of the other three Shichinintai members. "Where are they? I've seen no sign of them since I've been here, and they are very hard to miss."

Everyone seemed startled by his sudden questioning, even the laid-back Daimyo. He scowled at the youth before him, setting the flaps of skin to mold again. "I sent them on another _errand_ while you were away; they should be arrive within a forthnight. Until then, you are my honored guests." He put a heavy emphasis on the word 'errand', as if to try and demean the Shichinintai.

Bankotsu's eyes flashed. "Under whose orders?"

The Daimyo looked ruffled and glared; the wrinkles of fat moved again. "Under _my_ orders, mercenary." At this the guards advanced on either side.

The others looked around warily, ready for a fight, but Bankotsu stayed staring ahead at the Daimyo.

After a long pause in which the two parties simply watched each other, waiting to see who would strike first as their leaders glared each other down.

Making a face, Bankotsu turned on his heel, swinging Banryuu skillfully around with him.

Yuka spared a final glance in the Daimyo's direction as they left; he looked immensely satisfied.

* * *

Whew, long chapter this time around. Sorry for the belated updated everyone, ever since Winter break it seems my schedule has been thrown off. **grumbles to self**

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for your reviews everyone, and special thanks to my BetaReader Skittlez who is constantly putting up with my laziness and motivating me when I'm very uninspired. She has some awesome stories, you should check them out. Heehee.

Thanks again everyone, I'll see you soon! Ja'ne!

Review Please.


	17. Chapter 17

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 17: Deceit 

The Shichinintai and Yuka had been lodged in a well enough prepared room on the far end of the Daimyo's castle. Several skittish servants that hurriedly brought in their trays and promptly left again without a word or even a glance had previously served them food and drink.

All four of the men were disgruntled, including Suikotsu. Jakotsu was watching all the doors warily, while Renkotsu grunted, leaning back against the wooden-framed doors heavily. Suikotsu was looking at his hands that were folded in his lap with a stern look, his lips pulled into an uncharacteristically troubled frown. Bankotsu was just sitting there, arms and legs folded. Banryuu was in his arms. He had closed his eyes, but he did not look at all like he was sleeping. He twitched and shifted his position a lot, his eyes moving behind the eyelids every now and then.

They spoke very little until they were sure that they were not being watched or that their words would not be overheard.

Suikotsu was the first to break the silence, heaving a large sigh before speaking. "So, what do we think of the Daimyo?" He was still looking at his cupped hands in his lap, not lifting his eyes to the others.

Jakotsu made a disgusted face, snorting derision at the mention of the pig-like barbarian that ruled over the lands. "He's a slob, easy to be rid of," he said, slumping forward in a carefree sort of manner, though it was evident by his stiff tone that he was not so laid back.

"He has power and he's conniving; he's up to something," Renkotsu replied simply.

They awaited their leader's verdict now; Bankotsu appeared to be mulling something over. When he opened his eyes at last, there was a fierce fire in them. He looked ready to make an attack on the Daimyo at any moment.

"The Daimyo is acting strangely, I don't trust him," Bankotsu admitted, looking at the doors pointedly, as if he expected someone to burst from them suddenly.

"Now is not the time to act, though, Bankotsu-no-oo-aniki." Suikotsu advised when he caught a hint of venom in Bankotsu's tone. "Let us wait until the return of our comrades before making our move against him. They may have news of what has been going on since we left them here to take care of that small village."

"Did he try to poison us?" Renkotsu questioned lazily, changing the subject somewhat.

Suikotsu looked up at him, "No. I doubt he will make his move so soon either. I expect he has something bigger in mind. He does not seem the sort that would be satisfied with poison."

"He wants us to go down in flames in front of everyone, then?" Yuka put in her two cents suddenly. She had sat quietly the whole time, listening to the men talk and couldn't help but bring in what she thought as well.

She received strange looks all around. They all fell silent, having never heard such terminology before. Yuka felt her cheeks heating up in embarrassment, and her anger and irritation growing with it. What had she said that was so weird that they had to give her those looks for?

"What?" She finally blurted out, looking at them all indignantly.

"What's all this 'us' talk? The Daimyo's not interested in you," Renkotsu scoffed.

"Yeah, since when did you become a member of the Shichinintai?" Jakotsu added, in a rare moment agreeing with Renkotsu.

Yuka frowned, she hadn't meant to mean it like that. The word had just fitted. "Big deal," She scoffed, turning her head to one side scornfully.

"What does that mean anyway? You talk funny," Jakotsu teased her, snickering as her eyes lit up with anger and shock. She wasn't ready to answer any more questions about 'where she came from.'

"If you were smarter you would know," she teased back. She was pleased when he screwed up his face in anger.

"Bankotsu-no-oo-aniki, can I kill her now?"

Bankotsu managed to crack a smile and shook his head sternly. "No," he replied simply. Jakotsu pouted immediately.

The topic soon turned back to what they should do. It looked like the majority was for lying low for now, though it was evident that none of them liked waiting very much.

Forgotten, Yuka screwed her face up in a nasty frown before quietly slipping out. The cramped room had begun to get a little hot and she was hoping for a cool night breeze to alleviate a headache she could feel coming on already.

She turned back just a little to peek out of the corner of her eye at the crack of light that was filtering out onto the floor from their room. They hadn't even noticed she had gone yet. She smirked to herself, pleased with her escape.

Her eye caught the movement of a shadow behind her and the soft murmur of padded feet across the wood. The hiss of cloth through the air was nearly silent.

So, she was being followed, that was typical. Well, maybe she could play spy for a little bit, she had liked playing that when she was little and now she could really live it. She smiled to herself and tried to act oblivious to her follower.

She continued on this way for some time, making sure to stay ahead of them at all times and not making any abrupt movements or stops that might call for suspicion.

After a while she got bored with her game though, and wondered if it would be fun to try and discreetly lose whoever was tracking her. It was getting annoying anyway. She was afraid of stopping or sitting down or even resting anywhere since she didn't know yet if they would stop as well or keep coming.

She doubted that they would keep coming, but then again she wasn't about to chance that they wouldn't.

Turning a corner, she opened a door to her left and slipped in, shutting it behind her noiselessly and going to hide in a closet between to futons stacked inside. She was relieved that no one had been inside the room, it looked to be some sort of shrine.

She heard her follower stop outside. Carefully the screen was pulled back, but there was nothing inside suspicious and he passed.

Yuka clambered out of her hiding place when she was sure he was gone and carefully poked her head out the sliding door, only leaving when she was sure no one was nearby.

She was quite happy with herself after the ordeal of losing her follower so simply. She thought herself quite clever, despite the fact that the person following her must not have been very smart at all to lose her so easily.

It had been unnerving to be followed though, and she felt much more at ease now that she was sure she was no longer being followed. Sighing, she walked leisurely back through the hallways in the direction she had come from.

* * *

Yuka was utterly bored. She had turned off into an adjacent hallway early on, not wanting to go back to the room with all the grumpy men yet. She was trying to enjoy herself until they came looking for her, she had lost count of the minutes it was taking for them to realize she was gone. 

She knew Jakotsu was dense, but at least Suikotsu or Renkotsu could notice that she was no longer present. Heck, Jakotsu should have noticed she was gone merely by the fact that he could sit in peace for five seconds! Maybe they really didn't notice her that much after all. . .

Yuka felt a bit nostalgic at the thought, but quickly shook it off. Who was she kidding anyway? Like she needed them past getting her back home! Who cared if they paid any attention to her coming and going? Not her, that was for sure!

She stopped mid-thought as voices reached her ears. She immediately froze, thinking she had been spotted but soon she calmed when she heard that the voices were not only staying in one place but that they seemed pretty damn drunk as well. Or so she supposed by their slurred speech.

She was going to continued on when a comment caught her interest.

"So when is the boss gonna give the word?"

Curious now, she crept forward, listening carefully. Judging from the various tones, she had to guess there were three of them within.

"How the hell should I know? But I can tell you this, it's gonna be soon. Any day now we're gonna be after those mercenary dogs and have their blood on their swords. We'll see who's giving us orders like they're the Daimyo when we're finished." The man broke into a loud roar of laughter, joined by one of his comrades. The banging of a clay jug on the table could be heard loudly.

"Do you think- do you think we actually stand a chance?" A second piped in, sounding timid.

"Of course, with those other three already gone we'll have them down in no time. We rival them in sheer numbers," a third voiced.

Yuka sucked in her breath. The other three? _'Do they mean Mukotsu, Ginkotsu and Kyoukotsu?' _

"B-but they're mercenaries. Trained killers, surely it won't be so easy to knock them off," the timid one said.

"I think the boss said something about putting a toxin in their food before we attack. We're gonna jump them in their sleep supposedly. Sounds pretty cowardly. I'd like to slice them open in broad daylight when they're armed," the first said, sounding thoughtful in his gruff, slurred tone.

Yuka felt as if her heart were in her toes. Her eyes were wide and her mouth ajar. She had suspected something like this, but the reality had finally got to her. They were going to have a real fight! Everything had been dangerous on their journey, but she had never once seen any of them in action and wondered if she could trust their skill now.

"You heard the rumors in town though, didn't you? You heard when we picked up supplies. The villagers are convinced that the girl with them in a youkai. What if it's true? Nothing could stand against them if they have a demon backing them up!" The second man sounded frantic now.

"Well, I ain't never seen a demon like that before, but if she is, we'll find out when we capture her," the first laughed again followed by a swallow from the sake jug in his hand. "The boss didn't give any orders on what to do with 'er either!"

He was in a roar of laughter now, and the other two quickly joined in on a discussion of whether she really was a youkai or not.

Yuka was frozen. On one hand she was snickering because she was even considered anywhere close to a demon. But on the other she was frightened now. Had the poison been in their food that night and they had not known? Suikotsu had said that there was no poison, but maybe he was mistaken.

Hurriedly she darted away, no longer caring if her footsteps were heard.

* * *

Bankotsu had sent him out to retrieve that stupid girl again. What was it always him leaving to go and baby-sit the little brat? Well, whatever it was, he wasn't happy about it. Why did she have to go running off all the time anyway? Hadn't that run-in with the youkai at the hot spring made her wary enough of going off by herself? 

Grumbling to himself, he looked about shiftily. He suspected that there was someone supposed to be following him about now, but there was no sight of anyone, not even a noise. Strange. . .He stayed on his toes despite that, it wouldn't do to drop his guard just yet.

The sound of footsteps racing across the wooden floor, pounding hard made him flinch as it broke the silence. Spinning, he was surprised to see a solitary slim figure dashing toward him. The runner must not have known he was in the way, for his head was bent to the ground stiffly. "Hey, watch it-!" He roared loudly as the figure crashed right into him, knocking him over.

There was a gasp and small hands hurriedly splayed on his chest and pushed off as the figure lifted itself. In the dim moonlight he could just barely make out a tear-stained face.

"Yuka?" He asked curiously. He had never seen the girl cry before and here she was sobbing away like a baby.

She recognized him immediately and hurriedly sniffed, brushing away her tears. She gave him a defiant, angry glare, but there was a lingering sadness and the tears continued. She looked like she wanted to say something, but every time she opened her mouth, a choked sound came out. Her throat had grown thick during her crying; she couldn't talk unless she wanted to break into wailing sobs again.

"Where the hell have you been?" Renkotsu growled, taking no notice of the rather awkward position they were sitting in now.

She was half in his lap, spread out and ruffled looking. He was half sitting up, causing her to slide off of his upper body and crane her neck stiffly if she wanted to see his angry face.

"I went for a walk. Is that a damn crime?" She was able to speak finally, but it was in a choked sobbing voice that made more of the tears spill out.

Renkotsu made a face at her. He was still furious with her for running off again, but yelling at her like this would simply be pointless. Besides, she was already in tears for Kami-sama knew what.

"Alright, fine, whatever," He grunted. "C'mon, let's go then."

* * *

Wah! v-chan has returned at long last! sorry tot hose that have been waiting so long, especially Skittlez-chan! **bow bow** I've been in a bit of a stupor lately since school has finally let out and I was having some backwash from the exam week. Oro! But now I'm much better and ready to go on an updating spree!

Thanks to everyone that reviewed, and I'm sorry that it took so long to update again. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer thus far.

Thanks again and I hope to see everyone again soon! Ja'ne!

Review Please?


	18. Chapter 18

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 18: Trouble on the Horizon 

Yuka glared at Renkotsu, furious with him for no reason other than he had caught her crying and she now lay sprawled across him in an embarrassing posture. Why had she even bothered to get worked up over those stupid guards' words anyway? These men were despicable and deserved whatever was coming to them. The only one she should be worried about is herself.

"Are you gonna get off or are you too comfortable?" Renkotsu grumbled at her, prompting Yuka to swiftly pull herself into a sitting position. They glared daggers at each other.

"Don't be an idiot," Yuka sniffed, turning her head aside haughtily.

Renkotsu rolled his eyes at her before shoving her off of his feet so that he could stand. Growling angrily at him for pushing her, Yuka stamped to her feet, glaring up at him defiantly. The threat she seemed to be sending him might have been more effective if she had not been so much shorter than him. He scoffed at her and headed back in the direction of the room that the Shichinintai were staying in.

"Come on, wench," he grunted when Yuka did not immediately follow.

"Bastard," Yuka huffed under her breath as she followed him, feeling quite like she wanted to scream at the moment. If she weren't counting on this pack of losers to get her back home, she would have left right that moment. But it just so happened that she was relying on them to get her home and for now she'd put up with his crap, even though she hated him more than ever now.

"You two were gone a long time," Jakotsu mused when they walked in.

Yuka sniffed, ignoring him entirely. The last thing she needed was to get into a fight with Jakotsu right now. She was far too emotional still from that crying she had just done and she didn't dare stress herself any more at the time. For all she knew, she'd end up crying in the middle of the argument and Jakotsu would gain the upper hand and she was not about to allow that to happen.

"Is everything all right?" Suikotsu asked, noticing the red puffiness of Yuka's eyes.

"The wench was just trying to run off again," Renkotsu grunted as he took his seat opposite Bankotsu.

"Heh, next time she runs off, kill her," Bankotsu said, smirking to himself, though he seemed distracted by something else at the moment. He seemed to be thinking about something.

Jakotsu looked thrilled at this prospect and smiled delightedly, clapping his hands together in excitement. "Really Bankotsu-no-oo-aniki!"

Yuka sent Jakotsu a deadly glare that he did not notice. _'Tch, bunch of lousy assholes. Really, I must just be near that time of the month to cry like that.'_ She was tempted to snort contemptuously, but despite their putting up with her thus far, she knew they were still killers and would strike her dead on the spot whenever they pleased. She would have to play her cards a little more carefully now that Bankotsu had given his consent on killing her.

"What about Inuyasha?" Renkotsu asked.

"It would be easier to use the girl as bait, since she claims to be friends with that woman that Inuyasha travels with, but she's not worth having around if she causes too much trouble." Bankotsu replied.

Yuka rolled her eyes to herself and flipped through one of her ruined textbooks uselessly, trying to act as if she weren't threatened by their words. What had caused Bankotsu's change of heart? Had he caught wind of what she had heard as well and was simply on his guard? No, he didn't seem like the type to kick back like this when he was being betrayed…

Yawning silently, Yuka picked through her bag until she found a place she could put the textbook she had been reading. Shoving it back in with a grunt, she leaned against the wall and slowly closed her eyes, aware that someone was watching her the entire time.

* * *

Yuka woke the next morning to find that a blanket had been wrapped around her shoulders in her sleep. Who had done that? She was stiff and cold nonetheless though, there seemed to be a draft blowing in from somewhere. Rubbing at her sleep-filled eyes and yawning, she stretched, feeling a painful crick in her neck pop. Standing up, she continued to stretch, feeling only mildly better after she had done so.

Everyone else seemed to be gone again. Geez, they didn't want her wondering off but then they went and left her alone like this. She was definitely getting a mixed message. And where were they all going all of the time anyway? It wasn't like there was anything to do in this castle…Her mind briefly wandered to what she had heard the drunken guards talking about the night before. Should she tell them what she had learned?

_"Heh, next time she runs off, kill her."_

Yuka wrinkled her nose in disgust. No, she would let them be taken for fools. They deserved it for hurting all of those innocent people, after all. And if things got bad, she could always disappear.

She walked out the door, looking around for the four Shichinintai members that still remained. Just her luck – Renkotsu was apparently waiting for her, leaning against one of the wooden railings that overlooked a garden. Yuka sniffed at him derisively, she hadn't forgotten what a prick he had been when she'd run into him the night before.

"Where are you going, wench?" Renkotsu shot at her from where he was standing.

Yuka sent him a glare, sneering in detest. "I was just looking to see where everyone had gone," she replied testily.

"Don't bother, they're not doing anything that concerns you," he replied in the same tone.

"Oh yeah? And why do you care if I waste my time or not?" She snapped at him irritably, glaring at him sharply over her shoulder, preparing to stomp away from him.

"You would be in the way, that's why," he replied firmly, making her fall silent. He had stopped leaning against the post and was now standing with his arms folded over his chest, glaring at her, daring her to protest.

Yuka ground her teeth, her fists clenching at her sides. "Fine then," she spat, feeling hurt for some reason. "What do you suggest I do then?"

"Go back to sleep," he replied with a shrug. "Or try to be quiet. I don't think the Daimyou will be happy with some little mouse making so much noise. If you plan on keeping your head, you had better stop squeaking."

_'M-mouse!'_ Yuka thought, enraged now.

"You are such an asshole!" she fumed and turned about, her hair and skirt flapping wildly in the sudden wind she had created as she stomped off back into the room.

Pulling the blanket back around her shoulder, Yuka huffed as she shuffled through her backpack uselessly. Why did he always have to be such a jerk? And why was _he_ always around her anyway? It was creepy, she would have thought that Bankotsu would leave someone else to follow after her like Suikotsu. She could get along with him and he was a nice man, if not a bit strange to be joined up with the other three mass-murdering weirdo's. It would make more sense if he was the one to follow her around instead of Renkotsu, seeing as she never got along with Renkotsu and it always seemed as if they were arguing whenever they spoke. Another thought struck her suddenly – was Bankotsu leaving someone behind to watch her? She had supposed so since she was a "hostage" – whatever that meant – and that as a hostage there should always be someone keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't escape. But she had never heard Bankotsu say a word about watchmen. The only thing he had ever said akin to that was a threat, and she hadn't really taken it seriously for some reason.

She looked up suspiciously at the doorframe. Was Renkotsu some kind of weird stalker-person? Or maybe he was just worried about her? Yuka scoffed at the idea only to burst into a derisive laugh shortly after. She covered her mouth with her hands and rocked back and forth on her knees, her gut smarting from her mirth. Yeah right, like he cared about anyone beside himself!

Settling down with one of her textbooks again, she flipped idly through the pages, trying to keep herself occupied.

* * *

Bankotsu was practicing with Banryuu outside in one of the gardens, felling trees with a simple flick of his wrist. Some soldiers were watching him secretly from an unused room, thinking that Bankotsu could not see them from where they were, sitting in idle awe of his easy maneuvering of the awesome halberd. What were they up to, spying on him like this? Well, whatever they were thinking, he would squash any thoughts they had about facing _him_ in combat, they were nowhere near his level in skill.

The guards gaped at how swiftly the young man could swing around the huge sword that was rumored to weigh more than ten men. This was indeed something to be worried about. How did the Daimyou expect them to face this colossal man that wielded such a blade? And he was the leader! There was no telling what other devilish arts his hell-born troupe specialized in.

Sneaking off, they mumbled among themselves all the way to the Daimyou's throne room, doubting the power of their Lord now that they had seen what the youth could do.

* * *

Yuka had fallen back asleep again, leaning against the wall idly, thinking to herself over and over about what she had overheard the night before. What was this Daimyou up to? He was splitting up their ranks to make it easier to kill them, yes, but why? The man looked like a coward, Yuka had been able to tell from the moment that she had seen his rippling massive bulk that he was as helpless as a baby was in combat. So he was eliminating the Shichinintai out of sheer fear? Or maybe to gain a name for himself so that few would dare to face him and his army? Yuka mulled it over continuously until she had nodded off, her mouth slightly open.

The returning Shichinintai members rudely awaked her later in the evening. Jakotsu was making a point to prod her with his foot.

"Is she dead?" He asked hopefully, making a sour face when Yuka's eyebrows twitched angrily.

"I am not dead, I was just sleeping," she grumbled at him, sitting up and combing her hair with her fingers. She still felt stiff.

Shifting, she leaned her back against the wall, hunching the blanket up around her neck and getting comfortable as she watched Jakotsu cleaned his blade diligently. Suikotsu and Renkotsu came in together; talking about something Yuka did not catch until they were in the doorway. They broke off then and each headed their separate ways in the room. Renkotsu leaned against a wall far to Yuka's left and seemed to be brooding. Suikotsu appeared to be concerned with a cut Jakotsu had just acquired while working with his blade. If she had not been in such a stupor herself, Yuka would have mocked him, but for some reason she felt almost sloth-like at the moment.

Bankotsu returned late, the sun had already set and Renkotsu had lit the oil lamps in the room an hour before. He looked disgruntled.

"The Daimyou wants to eat with us tomorrow night," he informed everyone.

Renkotsu snorted, Jakotsu looked appalled and Suikotsu simply raised his eyebrows in question.

"Really?" Suikotsu asked, taken aback.

"Yeah, he says to come by sundown tomorrow," Bankotsu replied.

"Waste of time," Renkotsu grunted, his arms folded over his chest again.

"That man is disgusting, not even marginally cute," Jakotsu scoffed.

"Well, we can't exactly turn him down now, can we?" Bankotsu was smirking. Did he have something up his sleeve? Yuka wondered to herself idly as she watched him shift Banryuu onto his shoulder as he spoke. "After all, he's been so hospitable."

* * *

Gah! I haven't updated this in forever! My apologies everyone! I'm such a scatter-brain! You'd think I was born without a brain with how often I actually try to use it.

Blah, anyway, thanks for your patience and reviews as always, minna-san. I feel bad about not having much time to write anymore, I was hoping to finish a lot of my stuff this summer, but all I did was add to my work-load, I think. Meh, I should concentrate on my older stories for a bit, I suppose...

Well, ramblings aside, I must unfortunately bid you all farewell for now. Hope to see you soon! Ja'ne!

Review Please?


	19. Chapter 19

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 19: Hospitality

Yuka rolled her eyes. Just great, now she'd have to sit and eat with that pig of a Daimyo. Just what she'd wanted to end a perfectly horrible day…

When the time came for them to leave, the four men were all in a foul mood. Yuka was surprised to see that even Suikotsu's eyebrows were drawn together in irritable thought. She got to her feet with a heavy sigh.

"Well, should we get going?" she asked of the room exhaustedly.

The four looked up at her quizzically, as if to inquire as to what she was talking about. Yuka stiffened, growing embarrassed as she realized that she had addressed them in a way as if they were her friends. Ugh, now she had really dug herself a grave…

Unfortunately for Yuka, that wasn't why the four were staring at her at all.

"What makes you think you're going, wench?" Renkotsu scoffed at her. "A Daimyo's dining hall is no place for a woman."

Yuka huffed, growing red in the face from embarrassment and outrage. Oh she hated him! Let the Daimyo trick them! This'd give her a chance to sneak off and find her way home.

"She's right," Bankotsu announced and Yuka felt surprised that he would defend her. He got to his feet and slung Banryuu over his shoulder with a smirk. "Let's go."

As he began to walk away, he looked over his shoulder at Yuka and leveled her with a steady stare; his smirk wasn't there anymore. "You stay here," he ordered and Yuka was reminded of his threat to kill her if she wandered off again.

She stiffened again, squaring her shoulders and glaring at him daringly, though she knew it was a stupid move to act this way toward their leader. Bankotsu was the youngest by far, of course, but he was also the deadliest. Yuka knew she was in trouble if she dared anger him even a little bit. She'd have to watch herself more carefully…

She stood there, still and glaring as they filed out of the room and shut the shouji door behind them. They talked amongst themselves as they walked down the hall and Yuka listened to them grumpily until their voices had vanished down the hallway.

Flopping down on the floor, she gripped the edges of her skirt in her fists and grit her teeth against a roar of overwhelming anger and frustration that tore through her heart. She hated this place, this place that was so unlike her world. She wanted to go home, to get back to something that she actually understood. It had been nice to get away for a while, but this was too much anymore. Youkai, assassins, daimyo, crazy super-human powers, just too much…

Sighing, she calmed herself down, knowing it was pointless to get so worked up over something so stupid. Besides, she was going to be out of this mess soon enough at any rate.

Getting back to her feet, she folded her arms and walked to the shoji door. Carefully and slowly she pushed it back until just a sliver of the light from outside peeked through. Pressing her face to the adjacent wall, she eyeballed the outside and was surprised to see that no guards were at the door. Grinning to herself, she snatched up her knapsack and slung it over her arm before going back to the door. Deciding to still be wary, she slid the door the rest of the way open and stuck her head out, taking a careful look around before slipping out herself and shutting the door back again. She was still smiling as she noticed that she had left the oil lamp in the room burning but shrugged it off and went on about her way, tip-toeing across the wooden floor.

She began to breathe shallowly, listening for any sign of life around her. Three times she had to duck and hide when soldiers passed by, silent and wary in the growing darkness. Yuka would make a face at them, waiting for several minutes after they had passed before daring to stick her head out again.

Yuka could smell fresh air and a cool breeze reaching toward her now and with a leap of her heart she was ready to dash into the wood and disappear. Just as she had thought she would escape for good, however, there was a roar that caught her attention. Men were yelling and a blaze was being beaten back from far away, but she could not tell from where. All she could see were the red flames licking the wood and sky far behind her. Footsteps drummed on the ground and Yuka's heart leaped, but this time with fear. Had she been found out!

Ducking into an empty room, she dashed back and forth hastily, looking for somewhere to hide, but the footsteps were still coming…Men's voices growled and called to each other, and though she heard them, Yuka did not recognize the words they spoke.

The shoji door to her hiding place was flung open before she could find a place to hide and several of the castle guards ran into the room, blades drawn. Yuka's heart was in her throat.

"There she is," the chief palace guard growled, pointing at Yuka. "The demon wench, kill her!"

Eyes wide with fear, Yuka dashed towards them, doing the only thing she could think of at that frantic moment to escape. Hissing and screaming like a crazy woman, she leaped past several of the guards and twisted away from the few that grabbed at her cloak.

"Get back," she spat at them, flexing her fingers like she had seen other youkai do. "I'll kill you if you touch me, get back!"

Four of the guards looked as if they believed her and drew back an inch or so, watching her carefully. The others yelled at her, but dared not come closer either. Yuka wasted no time in jumping out of their reach and then taking off back down the hallway, headed towards what she was sure was an exit.

The guards seemed to regain their composure when she had gone 3 yards from them and gave chase again, yelling and cursing at her.

"Filthy cowardice demon," they shouted as they drew their swords.

Yuka ran at full speed, her energy renewed as adrenaline pumped through her veins. She was almost there; she could see the moon-drenched dirt road ahead of her. She'd make it, she knew she would. She'd make it into the forest and disappear…

The night was full of surprises though and just as that thought crossed her mind, the woven walls of the room she was passing exploded outward. Yuka came to a halt before she slammed into Jakotsu, who was busy fighting off another group of guards. With a flick of his wrist they were disposed and he smirked to himself in satisfaction before noticing Yuka.

"Hey, what are you…" he halted when he saw the guards running up behind her. His brows knitted together in irritated aggravation. "You always cause trouble, you know that?"

With another flick of his wrist Jakotsutou had writhed out, tearing at the wooden floors and walls like paper. Yuka took in a deep breath of air, having only witnessed the power of Jakotsutou once before and even then it had been brief. From close up the power of the sword was even more disturbing and terrifying than when she had first seen Jakotsu use it.

The guards kept right on charging straight into it, not even aware of what had hit them as Jakotsutou tore them to pieces. The whole lot of them collapsed to the floor in a bright crimson pool of blood. Yuka felt bile build up in the back of her throat at the sight and she averted her eyes to keep herself from throwing up.

Jakotsu sniffed at the dead guards piled around them before turning to Yuka with his eyes narrowed. "What are you doing out here? You're not supposed to be running around, filthy wench."

Yuka immediately forgot her sickness as rage bubbled inside of her. What was she doing? **_What was she doing!_** She was trying to get away from this hellhole _that's _what she was _doing_!

"The same thing you were doing, escaping from those guards," she spat back, only telling half of the truth.

He stared at her a moment with narrowed eyes and lips drawn together in scrutinizing thought. When another roar of angered voices was heard, however, both of their attentions were drawn to it immediately.

"Tch, damn Daimyou," Jakotsu sighed as he raised Jakotsutou again. He looked over at Yuka and jerked his head toward the exit of the castle. "You'll be in my way, get lost."

Yuka frowned at him, though she felt a sudden and unexpected urge to hug him. He was looking out for her, whether he would admit it or not and she was surprised enough to thank him. Would this be the last time she saw any of them?

Nodding, she turned to run, shouldering her pack without a second thought. "Thank Ja-kun," she said and smiled when he gave her a sharp glare, obviously not taking to the nickname too well.

Without another word, she was off, being careful not to step in the pools of blood in her bare feet. She really should have put her shoes on…And the smell of death and blood mixed with smoke were starting to get to her again. Her stomach was squeezing nauseatingly.

She wanted to turn around when she heard the 'clank clank clank' of Jakotsutou being unleashed, but she was afraid of what she might see and kept her eyes ahead of her as she came to the steps that led to the main entry yard of the castle.

Down the steps in only a few bounds, she winced as she landed on a sharp pebble and contemplated for a moment whether she should put her shoes on or not, but she knew she didn't have the time to waste. She'd need to get into the forest and under cover fast.

A coward, a completely useless coward, she thought to herself grudgingly as she dashed across the dirt road, towards the main gates. She was running off while they were back there fighting. No she didn't owe them anything, but it was just the principle of the matter that she was running away from something. She was so caught up in her own self-loathing that she didn't notice the guards that manned the main gates high above her head.

They spotted her immediately though and began to close the main gates long before she had even reached the mid-section of her crossing. Yuka looked up, startled out of her thoughts as she saw that the doors were closing before her. At this right she wouldn't make it in time!

Attempting to pick up the speed, a stitch formed in her side and her throat and lungs began to burn. Her feet were sore from the stones and the hard ground and her mind was racing frantically with insane thoughts.

"No," she breathed to herself harshly, and then again and again until she was chanting it to herself. But no matter how hard she tried; she was not going to make it. Already just a sliver of her freedom remained to be seen. Still she charged headlong, ignoring the shouts of the guards up above.

The doors shut two seconds before she had reached them and she braced her impact by placing her arms out in front of her. She still slammed into the wood of the doors and stopped, winded and tired from her sprint. Already though, she would have to move again, for the guards were beginning to notch arrows and shoot at her from their towers.

"Damn youkai," they shouted.

Yuka, feeling like she was at the end of her rope stomped one foot in the ground grudgingly. "I'm not a youkai!" she shouted, though she knew it didn't make a bit of difference.

Ducking behind the large poles of one of the two watchtowers by the gate, she caught her breath and stayed out of reach of the arrows at the same time. She cursed under her breath when an arrow found that her right arm was not completely hidden by the thick wooden columns. Gripping it tightly with her other hand, she hissed and dodged to the opposite pillar that was closer to the wall of the gate. Blood stained her robe and fingers and pain was shooting through the place where she had been hit. Lifting her hand, she investigated and found that it was not a deep wound at all, though it did sting horribly.

Looking around, she could find no cover at all for her. If she took flight again, she'd surely be shot down by one of the guards' arrows and no headway would be made at all if she stayed here…

Yuka took a deep breath as she made her decision.

* * *

It's been so long...Dang...

Ah! Before I forget! I've posted fanart for this fiction on my deviantArt account. Go see and leave comments! (shameless plugging)

Well, I'd like to leave a long author's note, but there is much to do and little time to do it in. Ja for now!

Review Please?


	20. Chapter 20

No One Like You By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 20: No Escape?

A sword swung into the wood only a few inches above her head and stuck there for a moment, lodge in place by the wielders force. Yuka jumped, looking up at the blade for a moment in total horror. She hadn't even heard her attacker coming…

With a roar the soldier pulled his blade out from the post and jumped at her. Yuka wasted no time and dodged swiftly around him. An arrow landed right in front of her as soon as she came out into the open though, and she dodged again, this time back behind the somewhat-protective wooden posts. The samurai continued to growl and yell at her as she tried her best to dance away from him. She was doing well so far, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep this up forever. She needed to find another way out.

Swinging back out into the open, she kept behind the first watchtower so that at least she would only have to worry about one set of arrows finding her. Now if only she could get outside of the soldier's firing range, she was sure she could out-run the heavily armored samurai. Sweat ran down her brow and she wetted her lips in anxious thought. She could do this; she just needed to keep her composure. She could do this…

Another arrow and another embedded themselves in the dirt close to where she was standing. Several passed so close to her in their swift decent that she could feel the air rushing against her exposed skin. If even one of those things hit her again, it wouldn't be good. She must have had bad karma that day, for one did strike, though again it was not very deep. She had been jumping away from the samurai again when one had found its mark in her leg. She let out a hiss, stopping to inspect her mild wound that was already bleeding crimson down her leg.

Cursing to herself as she dodged the wild swings of the samurai, she mentally called out for some form of help. She'd accept anyone's help at this moment. Even… A mental picture of Renkotsu smirking at her passed before her mind's eye and she grudgingly narrowed her eyes. Yes, even from him.

As if in reply to that mental note, she was suddenly swung up in the air, a strong arm lifting her off the ground from behind. Shocked, she watched the ground fade and then come back into focus as she was let down on her feet again. A shadow obstructed her view and she panicked momentarily, believing that the samurai had finally caught her. Maybe one of the other guards had stopped her so that the samurai could get a clear blow. She winced away, but then her eyes made out the shape in the darkness as not one of an enemy but of an ally.

A burst of flame and her eyes narrowed. The fire had illuminated his features and she could not believe how much bad luck she really had that day. Of course it would be Renkotsu to save her now…First Jakotsu and now Renkotsu, would she never live this down?

She had no more time to grumble about it, for her eyes were now following the flames and she watched as they engulfed the samurai, who had run into them head long. A sickening smell rushed over her in a wave and her stomach knotted. She didn't want to watch as the man let out a scream of unearthly pain, but she couldn't take her eyes away.

The flames shot from Renkotsu's mouth again, this time finding their way to the watchtowers. The guards there had not yet left their posts, but were now scrambling to find a way out. One actually jumped over the side of his tower and landed in a strange position on the ground. He did not move once from that position; it took Yuka a moment to realize that the man was dead.

Her mind became wrapped in frantic thought. What a truly horrible way to die…

"Are you ok?" Renkotsu grunted at her. Sweat was pouring down his face and he looked as if he had been in quite a brawl already. He had scrapes and cuts on him, and his clothes were dirty.

"I'm fine." Yuka replied. Her voice had caught in her throat as she spoke though, and her body was trembling violently. She hated to admit it, but she had been truly frightened in those last few moments and she was relieved that Renkotsu was there to protect her now. Or maybe she was glad? Small tears, hardly visible, made her eyes look glassy in the fires that were still eating away at the main gate.

Renkotsu put his gourd back at his side and turned to go, not saying a word to Yuka or even glancing in her direction.

Yuka's heart gave a painful throb and she stiffened, glaring at him obstinately as she held back the frightened tears that were still fighting to get out of her. She would not cry, not out of fear. What was the matter with her anyway? She felt so vulnerable…

Impulse seized her and in the frenzy of emotion she jolted forward, snatching at his retreating form as if she were afraid. And maybe she was…She wasn't sure, she was so lost in this world and so overwhelmed by it. She hated to admit it, but maybe she couldn't handle it like she had thought she could. Her throat closed in a choked sob as she finally let her frustration go. She had been putting up a front the entire time, she didn't want to fight…she didn't want to be alone…

Renkotsu stopped with a jerk as her weight held him back momentarily. Her tiny hands were clutching at his armor with an iron grip. He could see even in the dim light from the fire behind them that they shook. Her body, pressed to his back tightly, quivered and shook. Small sniffles made his brows come together in irritation. Just what he needed, a weepy woman clinging to him.

She wasn't sobbing heavily. No, that wasn't her style. No matter how much pain filled her heart, she doubted she'd ever be able to cry those big, globs of water that most girls her age seemed capable of producing on the merest whim. Her tears were small, but the pain was the same. She sniffed as quietly as she could, for all of her realizations; she was still attempting to act tough.

"Don't go away," she sniffed, hardly knowing what she was saying. She wasn't sure why she was saying them either; it was like some inner voice was speaking in her stead. "Stay here, don't go."

Renkotsu sighed, but allowed her to cling to him and weep. "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

Banryuu whirled about its master's head at an amazing speed. The soldiers that looked on were amazed, for they knew that the halberd must weigh two hundred pounds. That a youth such as this could swing it about so effortlessly left them in awe. Unfortunately, their pause was their end. The halberd swung round and screams wrenched the air as blood sprayed the room. The Daimyou had run off and was cowering somewhere in fear, his castle up in flames and his guards running short. Bankotsu smirked, he wouldn't leave this place until he had killed that fat bastard. To think that they could be done in by a man like him… 

Suikotsu arrived; the overwhelming smell of blood had brought forth his more twisted side. The guards that had not fallen to Banryuu were soon faced with the terror of Suikotsu's metal claws.

A large beam, eaten away by fire, crashed down between Suikotsu and Bankotsu with a loud crash. The wood creaked and cracked, the blow pulverized a good deal of the floor. Hopping over the flaming beam, Suikotsu went to his leader with a stern look of displeasure.

"Renkotsu and the girl couldn't be found," he reported.

Bankotsu nodded with a smirk. "That's ok, Renkotsu's probably got the wench with him anyway. Grab Jakotsu and head out. I'm going after the Daimyou," he ordered.

"Bankotsu-no-oo-aniki, the castle will collapse soon. The Daimyou's probably escaped outside with the rest of his samurai by now," Suikotsu replied.

"Tch, no he hasn't. That conceited bastard won't leave this castle without his riches. I told you to go," he gave Suikotsu a stern, cold look before jumping off into the flames with Banryuu.

* * *

Renkotsu ran in front of Yuka, circling the castle from a knoll in the forest. He was watching for any sign of stirring from within the flames. He knew that his comrades were around here somewhere, but he wasn't sure where… 

Yuka gasped for breath, trying to keep her yukata closed as she ran. She kept thinking that at any moment it would just fly open. The muscles in her leg cried in agony as she attempted to move them. The wound from the arrow was still fresh, bleeding freely. Yuka was glad that Renkotsu had not seemed to notice yet, though she was sure he would eventually due to her obvious limping gait. The warmth of the fire flowed up the side of the hill, brushing the trees with wave upon wave of heat. Some of the dryer trees had already caught fire and were quickly being eaten away at. The smoke got in Yuka's eyes and made it hard for her to keep running. How could Renkotsu keep his pace in these conditions?

Such horrible destruction…Again the smell of burnt flesh rose up, attacking her senses and making her stomach churn and swirl in disgust. She held her breath and closed her mouth, trying to shut out the horrible smell, but it didn't help much. Her head swam and she started to feel as if she might fall over or puke.

The deafening roar of the fire below made Yuka wary of the castle's samurai, whom she was sure, were lurking about in search for them. She stepped on a rock while she was preoccupied and stumbled, hissing as the wound on her thigh gave a sharp pang of pain. Dried blood had hardened around the wound, but with the sudden jerk, the flesh pulled back open and a crimson streak eased its way out.

Renkotsu halted, turning back halfway and frowning as he saw Yuka stumbling to get back to her feet, her leg covered in blood, her kimono stained through completely. She glared at him, daring him to mock her when their eyes met. She expected him to order her to quit lagging, but no remark came, which made her even more uncomfortable.

"What!" She finally blurted out, flushing under his gaze. So she'd been nicked by an arrow or two, big deal…

"You can't go any further," he said more for his own benefit than for hers. He came toward her, inspecting the blotch of blood on her kimono sternly. "Where did you get that?"

Yuka looked away from him, stubborn. She squared her shoulders, "None of your business. I can take care of myself."

He let out a short bark of laughter at that and knelt, pushing the folds of her kimono aside to get a better look at her wound. Yuka immediately flushed and jumped away from him, though the muscles in her leg were sore. She let out a screech of embarrassed outrage.

"Waah! Get away pervert! I told you it's just fine!" Yuka danced aside, holding her kimono closed tightly.

"Stop whining like a child and let me get that bandaged, idiot. Like I really want to see _that_ anyway," he tore a piece of his own clothing into several strips and motioned for her to sit. He looked annoyed.

Yuka's cheeks puffed out in renewed outrage; her mind was alive with anger. "Why you-! I'd rather die than have you doctor me, you fire-obsessed freak!"

Ripping the bandages from his hand, she scooted away from him and commenced in wrapping her wound herself, making sure to staunch the blood flow first. Her eyes were narrowed and she grit her teeth against the harsh flow of swear words that suddenly rose like a wave in her mouth. She wanted to scream she was so frustrated and angry.

"When you're done you should leave. Make your way back to your land of 'Well' or wherever it was you said you came from," Renkotsu grunted, facing back towards the flames of the castle. He seemed to be watching something.

Yuka froze, shocked beyond belief. For a moment she stumbled to comprehend what Renkotsu had said, but before she could even begin to speak he cut her off.

"You'll just drag us down; you're useless," Yuka immediately twitched and was ready to fly off the handle again. "Go back to where you came from."

As he spoke, a cry rose and from the flames of the ruined castle below ran the last remnants of the samurai that served there. They had been guarding some of the innermost chambers of the castle and were frightened when flames suddenly overtook them. Several were beating there clothing frantically as they took off into the woods.

Yuka watched with Renkotsu as the soldiers ran into the woods and began coming their way. Renkotsu looked at her and jerked his arm in a motion for her to flee. "Get out of here before you get killed, wench."

* * *

Wow, I haven't updated this in forever, I'm so sorry.

I'm leaving for Florida until the 13th, so I thought I should put up what few chaptersI have completed the night before. Hopefully the small bit of fluff I included will be good for everyone. Hope neither of the characters seem too OOC for anyone...

Oh, as a side-note. Fanart for this fanfiction can be found on my deviantArt account, as well as fanart for some of my other stories as well. Hopefully there shall be more in the future as well, possibly as soon asI get back from Florida I'll have more to upload.

Well, I've gotta finish packing and such, so I'll have to cut it short for now. Ja'ne!

Review Please.


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